tihvwy  of  Che  t:heolo0ical  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

A.G-.  Cameron,  Ph.  D. 


BX  9225  .04   H26  1853a 
Hanna,  William,  1808-1882 
Life  of  Thomas  Chalmers 


w 


I  lull    llllllilllll 


'I 


,    (IJL^- 


Moore  AndprssonA  Co  PuJjIisha-: 


>.♦» 


t  CF 


P»% 


-♦^-. 


'^4 
LIFE      (*     MAR  14 1910      . 


*'^"-  '^ 


o<> 


THOMAS  CHALMERS  D.D.,  LL.D 


REV.  JAMES  C.  MOFFAT,  M.A., 

a   OF   LATIN   AND    LECTUEEE   ON   HISTORY,   IN  THK 
COLLEGE   OF    NEW   JERSEY,    PRINCETON. 


SECOND     £I>IT10N. 


CINCINNATI: 
MOORE,  ANDERSON,  WILSTACH  &  KEYS. 

28  WEST  FOUETK  STREET. 

NEW  YORK ;  —  NEWMAN  &  I VISON. 
1853. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  C!ongress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

MOORE,  ANDERSON  &    COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Ohio. 


CINCINNATI: 
C.    A.    MORGAN    4    CO.,   STEEEOTTPERS 

HAMMOND   ST. 


WORQAN  &  OVEREiro 
PRUfTEKS. 


PREFACE 


The  present  volume  lays  claim  to  nothing  above  the 
fidelity  of  an  abstract,  designed  for  the  use  of  those  vsrho 
wish  to  know  the  outline  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  career ;  but 
who  either  cannot  afford  to  purchase,  or  have  not  the 
leisure  nor  the  taste  to  peruse,  many  volumes  on  the  sub- 
ject. In  preparing  it,  care  has  been  taken  to  present  the 
principal  facts  contained  in  the  Memoirs  by  Dr.  Hanna, 
briefly  and  consecutively,  retaining  his  own  words  in  all 
cases,  where  consistent  with  the  desired  brevity :  else- 
where, his  narrative  has  been  abridged,  and  only  so 
much  extracted  from  the  letters,  journals  and  speeches  as 
seemed  necessary  to  exhibit  the  character  and  spiritual 
growth  of  the  man.  Many  readers  will  always  prefer  the 
whole  work,  and  find  therein  nothing  which  they  would 
willingly  spare  ;  a  large  number,  however,  are  practically 
excluded  by  its  voluminousness  from  the  benefit  of  the 
noble  lesson  it  contains. 

The  circumstances  of  our  country,  and  the  age  in  which 
we  live,  are  such  as  urgently  to  demand  that  spirit  of 
aggressive  activity,  which  the  influence  of  Dr.  Chalmers's 
converted  life  is  calculated  to  promote.  Among  the 
youth  preparing  for  the  gospel  ministry  a  most  valuable 
qualification  is  the  virtue  of  prudent  enterprise.  The 
church  needs  men  of  energy  to  go  forth  into  the  mass  of 

(vii) 


till  PREFACE. 

the  irreligious,  and  build  up  new  outworks  of  the  King- 
dom of  God.  Xor  is  such  effort  to  be  confined  to  the 
professional  servants  of  the  church  alone.  When  infi- 
delity, both  openly  and  under  many  disguises,  is  so  active, 
and  the  system  of  Eomish  idolatry  is  straining  every 
nerve,  the  call  is  imperative  on  all  who  love  the  Lord  to 
be  also  progressive.  In  this  light  it  seems  desirable  that 
the  example  of  a  life  devoted  to  the  work  of  elevating  the 
degraded,  of  instructing  the  ignorant,  of  animating  the 
indifferent,  and  awakening  in  all  the  fire  of  christian 
enterprise,  should  be  submitted  to  the  public  in  an  easily- 
accessible  form. 

March  23, 1853. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BiBTH — Childhood — College  Life — License — Kesidence  at  Edinburgh — As- 
sistantship  at  Cavers — Mathematical  Assistantship  at  St.  Andrew's.  Page  11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Ordination  at  Kilmanj — Winter  at  St.  Andrew's— Chemical   Lectures  Re- 
peated at  St.  Andrew's — Presbyterial  Interference  —  Candidate  for  the 
Natural  Philosophy  Chair  at  St.  Andrew's — And  for  the  Mathematical 
Chair  at  Edinburgh — First  Publication — Chemical  Lectures  at  Kilmany 
and  Cupar — Double  Commission  in  the  Volunteers — Incident  at  Kirkaldy ; 
His  Brother  George's  Death — First  Visit  to  London — Publication  of  his 
Work  on  Stability  of  National  Eesources — Death  of  his  Sister  Barbara — 
Engaged  to  Contribute  to  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia  —  First  Speech  in 
General  Assembly — Death   of   Mr.  Ballarclie  —  Severe  Illness   and    its 
Effects        ........  Page  25 

CHAPTER  III. 

Efforts  after  a  Pure  and  Heavenly  Morality  —  Intention  of  abandoning 
Mathematics — Preparation  of  the  Article  Christianity — Contributes  to  the 
Christian  Instructor — Hospitality — James  Anderson  .  Page  37 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Study  of  the  Bible — Bible  Society — Extracts  from  Journal— His  Marriage — 
Missions — Visit  of  Andrew  Fuller — Extempore  Preaching        .        Page  47 

CHAPTER  V. 

Publication  of  the  Evidences  and  Authority  of  the  Christian  Eeligion — Ori- 
gin of  his  Views  on  Pauperism — On  the  Moravians  as  Missionaries — Ap- 
pearance in  Ecclesiastical  Courts  ....        Page  58 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Ministry  at  Kilmany — First  Seven  Years — The  Change — Visiting  and  Exam- 
ining—Class for  the  Young — The  Pulpit — The  Result — Funeral  Sermon 
at  Bendochy — Deputation  from  Glasgow — Election  to  the  Tron  Church 
of  Glasgow — Farewell  Sermon  at  Kilmany  .  .  Page  66 

CHAPTER  VII. 
First  Sermon  in  Glasgow — Attachment  to  Mr.  Thomas  Smith — Degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity  Conferred — Speech  on  Pluralities  in  General  Assem- 
bly— Sermon  before  Lord  High  Commissioner  .  .  Page  84 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Plans  for  Pastoral  Work — Secularization  of  the  Clergy — Denunciation  of  that 
Evil— Sabbath  School  Society— Excursion  in  Fifeshire — First  Appearance 
before  a  London  Audience— Visit  to  Mr.  Montgomery — Sermons  in  Loudon 
—Letter  from  Robert  Hall — Appointment  at  Stirling — Article  on  Pauper- 
ism—Highest Exhibition  of  his  Power  as  a  Preacher —  His  own  estimate 
of  Popularity— His  Father's  declining  Health  and  Death.        .        Page  99 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Publication  of  a  Volume  of  Sermons  —  Translation  to  the  parish  of  St. 
John's— Educational  Efforts— Pauper  Management— Rev.  Ed.  Irving— 

(ix> 


X  CONTENTS. 

KadicalEiots — Parochial  Lodgings— Christian  and  Civic  Economy  of  Large 
Towns— Chapel  of  Ease — Professorship  at  St.  Andrew's— Appearance  in 
Chm-ch  Courts — Dr.  Chalmers  in  his  Family,  and  in  Society — Farewell 
Discourses  at  St.  John's— Results  of  his  Labors  in  Glasgow — Installment 
at  St.  Andrew's  .....      Page  1S7 

CHAPTER  X. 

First  Winter  at  St.  Andrew's — Appearance  in  General  Assembly — Overture 
on  Theological  Course  of  Study— Gaelic  Chapel— Dr.  Chalmers  and  Sir 
Walter  Scott— Glasgow  Eevisited— Preaching  at  Stockport    .       Page  177 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Session  of  1824-5  —  Manner  of  Instruction  —  General  Assembly  of  1825 — 
Extracts  from  Journal— Difficulties  at  St.  Andrew's— Endeavors  to  Excite 
a  more  Profound  Picli^ious  Feeling— Death  of  his  Mother  and  Sister  Isa- 
bel— Professorship  at  London — Treatise  on  the  Use  and  Abuse  of  Literary 
and  Ecclesiastical  Endowments — Standard  of  Scholarship  in  Scottish  Uni- 
versities— Dr.  Chalmers  elected  to  the  Chair  of  Theology  iji  Edinburgh — 
Valedictory  at  St.  Andrew's— General  Assembly  of  1828 — Dr.  Chalmers's 
Inauguration,  and  first  Session  at  Edinburgh — Speech  on  Catholic  Etiian- 
cipation  —  Death  of  his  Brother  Alexander  —  Errors  of  Mr.  Irving  and 
Others — Examination  in  relation  to  the  Irish  Poor — Bible  in  Education — 
Meeting  with  Coleridge  —  Conversations  reported  by  Mr.  Gurney  —  Dr. 
Chalmers  one  of  the  Deputation  to  William  IV — Last  Meeting  with  Mr, 
Irving— Death  of  Dr.  Thomson  .  .  .  Page  IBS 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Publication  of  his  Work  on  Political  Economy  —  Bridgewater  Treatise  — 
Cholera — System  of  Popular  Instruction  for  Scotland — Dr.  Chalmers  Mod- 
erator of  the  General  Assembly  of  1882  —  Patronage — Moderate  and 
Evangelical  Parties — Veto  Law  .  .  .         Page  249 

CHAPTER  XIII- 
Excursion  through  England  .  .  .          Page  277 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Annuity  Tax — Sudden  Illness — Missionary  Operations — "Water  of  Leith" 
Village — Church  Extension  .  .  .  Page  294 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Literary  Distinctions — Endowment  of  Theological  Chair  in  Edinburgh — 
Lectures  on  Endowments — Visit  to  France — Eflbrts  in  behalf  of  Church 
Extension — Results  .  .  .  Page  303 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Non-Intrusion  Controversy  .  .  .        Page  314 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
Final  Conflict  between  the  Church  aud  State — Disruption        .        Page  869 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Progress  of  the  Free  Church — Westport  —  Dr.  Chalmers's  Professorial  Ca- 
reer— German  Philosophy — The  Famine  .  .        Page  395 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Domestic  Habits  —  Times  and  Modes  of  Composition — Success  of  the  Free 
Church— Visit  to  London— Last  Sabbath— Death  .        Page  417 


LIFE 


THOMAS    CHALMERS,  D.D..  LL.D. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Thomas  Chalmers  was  born  on  the  17th  of  March,  1780, 
at  Anstruther,  a  small  town  in  Fifeshire,  Scotland.  His  pa- 
rents, John  and  Elizabeth  Chalmers,  were  both  persons  of 
more  than  common  force  of  character  and  of  exemplary  piety; 
and  their  standing  in  society  was  that  which  belongs  to  the 
household  of  a  respectable  merchant,  who  has  risen  to  be  pro- 
vost of  his  native  town. 

Thomas  was  the  sixth,  in  their  large  family,  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren. His  earlier  years  were  marked  by  no  precocity  of 
attainment,  nor  were  the  means  of  instruction  furnished  by  his 
native  place  of  a  kind  to  inspire  love  of  knowledge  or  to  mould 
him  to  habits  of  industry.  Committed  at  the  age  of  three 
years  to  the  hands  of  a  superannuated  school  tyrant,  who 
retained  little  but  the  cruelty  of  his  better  days,  it  is  not  won- 
derful that  the  pupil,  with  his  warm  and  noble  impulses  just  bud- 
ding into  life,  should  have  been  distinguished  only  as  "  one  of 
the  idkst,  strongest,  merriest,  and  most  generous-hearted  boys 
in  Anstruther  school."  An  assistant  teacher  introduced  more 
lenient  measures,  but  added  nothing  to  the  course  of  instruc- 
tion. The  impulse  of  genius,  untrained  by  adequate  educa- 
tion, found  exercise  and  enjoyment  for  itself.  The  ability  to 
read,  very  early  acquired,  furnished  him  a  means  of  indepen- 
dent self-instruction.    Among  the  books  which  earliest  enlisted 

(ii; 


12  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1783-91. 

his  attention  are  mentioned  Gaudentia  di  Lucca  and  the  Pil- 
grim's Progress.  But  chie  iy  the  beautifully  simple  narratives 
of  Scripture  had  even  then  begun  to  shape  his  habits  of  think- 
ing for  those  pursuits  which  occupied  his  maturer  powers.  As 
illustrative  of  their  hold  upon  his  imagination  even  in  child- 
hood, it  is  told  of  him  that  when  not  quite  three  years  old, 
having  heard  his  father  read  the  story  of  Absalom's  rebellion 
and  death,  and  the  subsequent  lament  of  David,  he  was  after- 
ward found  alone  in  the  nursery,  walking  backward  and  for- 
ward, excited  and  absorbed,  repeating  to  himself  the  words 
"Oh  my  son,  Absalom,  oh  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son  !" 

Though  not  distinguished  by  any  religious  impressions,  he 
very  early  declared  his  intention  to  be  a  minister.  The  call  of 
genius  preceded  that  of  divine  grace.  The  purpose  to  which 
the  Creator  had  designed  him  was  demonstrated  even  in  his 
childish  amusements.  It  is  mentioned  by  a  sister  of  one  of 
his  playmates,  that  one  time  breaking  in  upon  them,  she  found 
the  future  orator  mounted  upon  a  chair  and  discoursing  with 
great  zeal  to  his  single  auditor. 

Having  mounted  from  class  to  class,  until  he  had  reached 
the  highest  in  the  school,  in  process  of  time,  rather  than  of  pre- 
paration, he  was  sent  to  college.  He  was  entered  as  a  student 
of  the  United  College  of  St.  Andrews  while  yet  only  in  his 
twelfth  year,  and  so  ignorant  of  the  elements  of  education  as 
not  to  be  able  to  write  his  native  tongue  with  ordinary  correct- 
ness. And  from  his  defective  knowledge  of  Latin,  he  was 
utterly  disqualified  to  appreciate  or  profit  by  the  prelections 
of  "that  distinguished  philosophical  grammarian,  i)r.  John 
Hunter,  who  was  then  the  chief  ornament  of  St.  Andrew's  Uni- 
versity." As  might  have  been  expected  from  his  age,  these 
deficiencies  were  not  compensated  for  by  any  unusual  applica- 
tion to  study.  Too  young  to  be  left  so  much  to  the  disposal 
of  his  own  time,  as  college  life  permits,  or  to  understand  the 
value  of  its  advantages,  he  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  first 
two  sessions  in  boyish  amusements,  without  making  any  respect- 
able advance  in  his  education.  At  the  same  time,  all  those 
who  then  knew  him  best  testify  to  the  rectitude  and  purity  of 


^T.  14.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  13 

his  character  ;  and  even  in  those  days  of  boyish  idleness  he 
gave  evidence  of  his  native  strength  of  mind  by  enthusiastically 
persevering  in  everything  that  he  undertook.  He  would  often 
pursue  some  favorite  idea  in  the  midst  of  his  noisy  companions, 
unembarrassed  by  their  laughter  and  efforts  to  interrupt  him, 
and  then,  when  he  had  followed  to  the  end  of  his  cogitation, 
join  in  the  merriment  with  the  most  hearty  good-humor.  The 
survivors  of  that  then  youthful  band  fondly  recall  evidences 
of  the  warmth  and  kindliness  of  his  affections. 

Such  was  Chalmers's  life  until  his  fourteenth  year,  when  a 
new  era  dawned  upon  his  intellect.  In  his  third  session  at  col- 
lege he  took  up  the  study  of  mathematics  under  the  instruction 
of  Dr.  James  Brown,  assistant  professor  in  that  department,  a 
teacher  of  more  than  ordinary  success  in  awakening  the  interest 
of  pupils  in  his  favorite  science,  and  one  to  whom  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, in  after  days,  declared  that  he  was  more  indebted  than 
to  all  his  other  instructors  together.  The  subject,  in  itself,  was 
one  to  interest  a  mind  like  his,  naturally  prone  to  consecutive 
thinking,  and  firm  and  decided  in  its  grasp  of  truth,  and  with 
the  additional  charm  lent  it  by  the  illustrations  of  his  eminent 
teacher,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  it  succeeded  in  entirely  absorb- 
ing his  attention.  "  Pure  geometry  had  especial  attractions  for 
him.  With  the  higher  powers  of  the  modern  analysis  he  be- 
came afterward  familiarly  acquainted,  but  he  never  lost  his 
relish  for  the  demonstrations  of  geometry,  nor  did  he  ever 
cease  to  think  that  from  the  closeness  and  consecutiveness  of 
its  successive  steps,  geometry  furnished  one  of  the  very  best 
instruments  of  mental  training." 

To  the  same  excellent  instructor  was  due  his  introduction  to 
various  other  subjects  which  afterward  employed  his  matured 
powers.  Being  admitted  to  the  friendship  of  Dr.  Brown,  he 
derived  much  instruction  as  v^^ell  as  healthy  intellectual  stimu- 
lus from  his  rich  and  eloquent  conversation.  In  his  compjwiy 
he  frequently  met  with  Sir  John  Leslie  and  Mr.  James  Mylne, 
the  one  afterward  professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  and  the  other  professor  of  Moral  Philosophy 
in  Grlasgow,  then  both  young  men  ;  but  so  much  older  than 


14  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1V94. 

Chalmers,  as,  together  with  the  real  maturity  of  their  thoughts, 
to  give  a  predominant  weight  to  their  opinions  in  his  mind  ; 
and  those  opinions  were  most  frequently  connected  with  the 
subjects  of  ethics  and  politics.  In  his  father's  household  he 
had  heard  nothing  but  the  staunchest  conservatism ;  from 
whose  narrow  and  uncompromising  bounds  his  young  intellect 
was  easily  tempted  by  the  charm  with  which  young  men  of  such 
talent  adorned  their  free  and  more  suggestive  range  of  thought. 
The  rigid  Calvinism  of  his  father's  faith  also  became,  in  his 
estimation,  under  the  same  influences,  "  a  religion  of  confine- 
ment and  intolerance  unworthy  of  entertainment  by  a  mind 
enlightened  and  enlarged  by  liberal  studies."  Godwin's 
Political  Justice  became  the  object  of  his  profound  admiration, 
and  the  cold,  religious  formalism  which  then  prevailed  in  the 
university,  tended  to  check  anything  like  the  growth  of  piety 
in  his  soul.  He  himself  testifies,  that  "  St.  Andrew's  was,  at 
this  time,  overrun  with  Moderatism,  under  the  chilling  influ- 
ences of  which,  we  inhaled  not  a  distaste  only,  but  a  positive  con- 
tempt, for  all  that  is  properly  and  peculiarly  gospel,  insomuch  that 
our  confidence  was  nearly  as  entire  in  the  sufficiency  of  natural 
theology,  as  in  the  sufficiency  of  natural  science."  His  own  clear 
intellect  soon  delivered  him  from  the  political  errors  **  into  which 
ne  was  thus  temporarily  seduced ;  from  the  religious  it  needed 
many  years,  and  other  than  human  influences,  to  recall  him." 

To  the  same  period  of  his  academical  career  belong  also  his 
first  attempt  in  English  composition.  "  Here  he  had  to  begin 
at  the  very  beginning.  Letters,  written  by  him  even  after  his 
second  year  at  college,  exhibit  a  glaring  deficiency  in  the  first 
and  simplest  elements  of  correct  writing  ;  and  he  had  to  be- 
come very  much  his  own  instructor ;  guiding  himself  by  such 
models  as  the  prelections  of  Dr.  Hunter  and  Dr.  Brown,  and 
the  writings  of  Godwin  or  other  favorite  authors,  presented. 
A  few  of  his  first  efforts  in  this  way  have  been  preserved. 
They  exhibit  little  that  is  remarkable  in  style.  The  earhest 
compositions  of  those  who  have  afterward  become  distinguished 
as  poets,  or  orators,  or  eloquent  writers  have  generally  dis- 
played a  profuse  excess  of  the  rhetorical  or  the  imaginative. 


JET.  15.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  16 

which  it  took  time  and  labor  to  reduce  to  becoming  propor- 
tions. In  the  college  exercises  of  Dr.  Chalmers  this  order  is 
reversed.  The  earliest  of  them  are  the  simplest  and  plainest, 
with  scarce  a  gleam  of  fancy  or  sentiment  ever  rising  to  play 
over  the  page.  They  give  token  of  a  very  vigorous  youthful 
intellect  disciplining  itself  at  once  in  exact  thinking  and  cor- 
rect perspicuous  expression,  never  allowing  itself  to  travel 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  analysis  or  argument  which  it  is 
engaged  in  prosecuting,  never  wandering  away  to  pluck  a  single 
flower  out  of  the  garden  of  the  imagination,  by  which  illustra- 
tion or  adornment  might  be  supplied.  Those  who,  as  the 
result  of  their  analysis,  have  concluded  that  in  Dr.  Chalmers's 
mental  constitution  the  purely  intellectual  largely  predomi- 
nated ;  that  fancy  was  comparatively  feeble,  and  that  imagina- 
tion, potent  as  she  was,  was  but  a  minister  of  other  and  higher 
powers,  might  find  historic  verification  of  their  analysis  in  the 
earliest  of  his  college  compositions.  But  his  progress  here  was 
marvelously  rapid.  Habit  of  accurate  and  easy  composition, 
which,  in  many  instances,  it  costs  half  a  lifetime  to  acquire  to 
the  same  degree,  were  acquired  by  him  within  two  years  ; 
and  the  ordinary  difficulties  of  expression  once  mastered,  that 
burning  fervor,  which  glowed  with  such  constant  intensity 
within,  got  free  and  natural  opportunity  to  outflow,  and  shap- 
ing spontaneously  the  language  that  was  employed  for  the 
utterance  of  thought  or  sentiment,  moulded  it  into  forms  of 
beauty  and  power. 

In  the  work  of  cultivating  his  talent  for  literary  composition  he 
derived  great  advantage  from  his  connection  with  the  Political 
Society,  an  association  of  students  for  the  purpose  of  literary 
improvement. 

In  November,  1795,  while  not  yet  sixteen  years  of  age,  "  he 
was  enrolled  as  a  student  of  Divinity.  Theology,  however, 
occupied  but  little  of  his  thoughts."  Mathematics  still  retained 
the  principal  place  in  his  esteem,  and  having  now  acquired 
enough  knowleds^e  of  the  French  lansfuaare  to  enable  him  to 
read  easily  mathematical  works,  therein  new  stores  of  delight 
were  laid  open  to  him  in  the  beautiful  and  far-reaching  analy- 


16  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1795, 

ses  which  had  then  found  no  adequate  interpreter  in  the 
English  tongue.  Even  the  able  theological  lectures  of  Dr.  Hill 
were  unable  to  win  him  from  his  favorite  science,  and  the  most 
of  the  year  was  spent  by  him  without  making  "  entry  upon  the 
theological  field."  It  is  a  striking  proof  of  the  light  in  which 
religion  was  regarded  both  by  himself  and  the  university,  that, 
while  thus  professedly  preparing  for  the  work  of  the  gospel 
ministry  and  utterly  neglecting  the  necessary  studies,  and 
without  any  distinguishing  marks  of  piety,  he  could  yet  com- 
pose prayers  for  oratorical  effect  and  an  audience  would  crowd 
to  enjoy  the  literary  treat.  It  was  then  the  practice  at  St. 
Andrew's  for  the  daily  prayers  in  the  public  hall  to  be  con- 
ducted by  the  theological  students  in  rotation,  and  when  it  came 
to  Chalmers's  turn,  the  truly  pious  heart  must  have  trembled  for 
the  boy  of  fifteen,  yet  ignorant  of  the  power  of  the  spirit  of  God, 
whose  prayer  is  made  an  object  of  public  admiration. 

Though  the  greater  part  of  that  year  was  suffered  to  pass 
without  much  profit  to  the  objects  of  the  course,  ere  it  came  to 
a  close  a  second  era  had  opened  in  the  intellectual  life  of  the 
young  student,  induced  by  the  celebrated  treatise  of  Edwards 
on  Free  Will.  The  enthusiastic  devotion  which  had  previously 
been  expended  on  mathematics  was  novf  addressed  in  still 
higher  degree  to  the  contemplation  of  the  sovereignty  of  God, 
the  grandeur  of  the  Almighty  government,  and  the  beauty  of 
tliat  order  according  to  which  God  has  foreordained  whatsoever 
comes  to  pass.  Speaking  of  this  period,  Prof.  Duncan  says  : 
"  He  studied  Edwards  on  Free-Will  with  such  ardor,  that  he 
seemed  to  regard  nothing  else,  could  scarcely  talk  of  anything 
else,  and  one  was  almost  afraid  of  his  mind  losing  its  balance ;" 
and  he  himself  remarked  of  it,  at  a  later  time,  "that  not  a 
single  hour  elapsed  in  which  the  overpoweringly  impressive 
imagination  did  not  stand  out  bright  before  the  inward  eye  ; 
and  that  his  custom  was  to  wander  early  in  the  morning  into 
the  country,  that  amid  the  quiet  scenes  of  nature  he  might  lux- 
uriate in  the  glorious  conception."  For  nearly  twelve  months 
this  magnificent  vision  of  the  Godhead,  and  subordination  of 
all  things  to  the  one  sovereign  will,  continued.    Yet  it  does  not 


-ET.  18.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  17 

seem  to  have  interfered  materially  with  the  practicality  of  his 
views  of  inferior  things  ;  for  during  a  visit,  in  the  summer  of 
1796,  to  his  brother  James,  then  residing  near  Liverpool,  he 
recorded  in  his  journal  the  particulars  of  his  observations,  with 
as  much  care  and  precision  as  if  he  had  never  entertained  an 
idea  above  them  —  a  true  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  largest  and  most  engrossing  of  his  ideas  ruled  without 
obliterating  the  minute. 

From  the  transactions  of  a  debating  society,  sustained  by 
the  theological  students,  it  appears  that  the  influence  of  the 
great  thoughts  of  Jonathan  Edwards  upon  his  mind,  was  far 
from  being  of  a  superficial  or  ephemeral  character;  for,  the 
next  session  (1796-7),  he  delivered,  in  the  society,  "a  sys- 
tematic discourse  on  predestination ;"  and  Prof.  Duncan  adds, 
that  the  subject  of  that  discourse  ''  occupied  him  intensely 
during  that  session."  Again,  in  the  session  of  1798-9,  he 
took  out  for  the  subject  of  debate,  "Is  man  a  free  agent?" 
and  chose  the  negative  side.  In  the  theological  society  he  was 
associated  with  Lord  Campbell,  John  Leyden,  Prof.  Duncan, 
and  several  others,  afterward  well  known  in  the  world  of 
letters. 

It  is  a  striking  proof  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  mind 
and  style  of  Chalmers  came  to  maturity,  after  a  stimulus  worthy 
of  his  powers  had  roused  him  to  activity,  that  part  of  an  exer- 
cise written  while  he  was  a  theological  student,  was,  forty  years 
afterward,  adopted  by  him,  word  for  word,  before  a  convoca- 
tion of  the  evangelical  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  of  which  Dr.  Hanna  says,  that  "no  passage  he  ever  wrote 
was  uttered  with  more  fervid  energy,  or  a  more  overwhelming 
effect." 

In  the  last  year  of  his  college  course,  as  it  was  not  required 
of  him  to  attend  lectures  more  than  three  months,  he  resolved 
to  employ  the  intervening  time  in  teaching,  with  a  view  to 
opening  up  some  field  of  independent  effort,  as  well  as  to  avoid 
imposing  the  additional  burden  of  supporting  him  upon  his 
father.  Accordingly,  he  soon  succeeded  in  engaging  himself 
as  a  private  tutor,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  such  in  May, 
2 


18  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHAOIEKS.  1798. 

1798.  The  disposition  of  the  family  was  such  as  to  render  his 
situation  anything  but  pleasant.  A  haughty,  supercilious  man- 
ner on  the  part  of  the  parents  toward  the  tutor,  was  not  likely 
to  leave  high  esteem  for  him  in  the  minds  of  his  pupils,  unless 
counteracted  by  some  inherent  dignity  in  his  own  character. 
Chalmers  felt  that,  and  correctly  and  manfully  sustained  him- 
self against  overbearing  aristocratic  pretension.  But  the  con- 
test was  exceedingly  disagreeable,  and  was  relinquished  at  the 
end  of  about  six  months.  Soon  afterward,  he  applied  to  the 
presbytery  of  St.  Andrew's  for  license  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
Though  some  difficulty  was  raised  on  account  of  his  youth, 
yet,  in  consideration  of  the  extraordinary  promise  of  the  latter 
years  of  his  residence  at  college,  the  presbytery  consented  to 
his  hcensure,  which  took  place  on  the  31st  of  July,  1799  ;  four 
months  after  he  had  completed  his  nineteenth  year. 

Immediately  afterward,  he  made  a  second  journey  into 
England,  and  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  Scotch  Church, 
at  Wigan.  At  the  house  of  his  brother  James,  who  was  now 
settled  in  business  in  Liverpool,  he  met  two  other  brothers, 
George,  three  years  older,  and  David,  about  as  much  younger 
than  himself,  both  of  whom,  as  well  as  William  had  been  for 
some  time  at  sea,  and  had  agreed  upon  .this  occasion  of  meet- 
ing. The  last-mentioned  was  prevented  from  joining  them,  and 
within  a  year  afterward  perished  in  the  destruction  of  the  ship 
to  whose  crew  he  belonged.  It  had  been  the  intention  of 
Thomas  to  avail  himself  of  that  opportunity  to  instruct  his 
younger  brother,  David,  in  navigation;  he  had  even  made  some 
progress  therein,  when  a  summons,  requiring  his  immediate 
presence  in  Edinburgh,  broke  up  the  lessons,  Avhich  were  never 
to  be  renewed.  A  situation  had  become  vacant,  which,  if  on  the 
spot,  he  might  procure.  He  obeyed,  but  was  disappointed.  He 
remained,  however,  in  Edinburgh,  during  the  whole  of  the  ensu- 
ing winter,  prosecuting  his  mathematical  studies  under  Prof. 
Playfair.  At  the  beginning  of  the  session,  he  had  hoped  that,  by 
taking  pupils,  he  might  keep  himself  from  pressing  upon  his 
father's  resources.  In  this  particular,  owing  to  the  lateness  of 
his  appearance  in  Edinburgh,  where  arrangements  for  the  session 


MT.  21.  LIFK    OF   DE,    CHALMERS.  19 

had  already  been  made,  he  did  not  succeed  to  his  expectation. 
During  two  months  subsequent  to  his  return  to  Scotland,  he 
preached  only  once,  and  in  January,  1800,  expressed  himself  as 
so  fully  occupied  with  his  mathematical  studies,  that  he  should 
regret  anything  occurring  as  an  interruption  to  them.  That 
whole  winter  was  devoted  to  mathematics,  under  the  instruction 
of  one  of  the  ablest  professors  in  Europe.  In  the  succeeding 
summer,  nothing  occurred  to  prevent  his  continuation  of  his 
favorite  pursuit  in  the  retirement  of  his  native  place. 

The  next  winter  he  returned  to  Edinburgh,  with  a  view  to 
attend  the  classes  in  natural  science  and  in  moral  philosophy. 
His  attention  to  chemistry,  especially,  was  indefatigable.  The 
lectures  of  Professor  Stewart  he  attended  regularly ;  but  the 
subject  seems  to  have  had  fewer  attractions  for  him  at  that 
time,  and  with  the  methods  of  the  lecturer  he  expressed  him- 
self somewhat  dissatisfied.  There  seemed,  to  his  close  mathe- 
matical turn  of  mind,  a  want  of  firmness  and  convergency  in 
the  arguments,  and  a  careful  avoiding  of  points  involving  diffi- 
cult or  lengthened  disquisition,  and  a  desultoriness  in  the  in- 
structions of  that  celebrated  philosopher.  "  The  Edinburgh 
professor,  of  whom  he  at  once  entertained  the  profoundest 
admiration,  and  to  whom  he  was  most  largely  indebted,  was 
Dr.  Robison." 

Mr.  Chalmers  had  now  been  licensed  about  two  years,  and 
yet  had  given  no  particular  attention  to  his  profession,  and 
seems  never  once  to  have  thought  of  his  duty  to  immortal 
souls.  Ambition  to  excel  in  mathematical  science  burned 
within  him,  to  the  exclusion  of  those  higher  motives  which 
ought  to  have  dictated  his  choice  of  the  gospel  ministry.  It  is 
clear,  however,  that  such  motives  were  yet  entire  strangers  to 
his  heart.  For  some  years  he  had  even  been  more  or  less 
under  the  cloud  of  a  secret  infidelity.  In  addition  to  the  erro- 
neous notions  contracted  while  in  college,  and  which  were  after- 
ward, to  some  extent,  counteracted  by  Edwards  on  the  Will,  in 
1798,  a  work  by  Baron  Holbach,  entitled  the  System  of  Na- 
ture, and  published  under  the  assumed  name  of  Mirabaud, 
came  into  his  hands,  and  for  a  time  unsettled  his  faith  in  the 


20  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1801. 

"stability  of  the  foundations  on  which  all  truth,  moral  and  re- 
ligious," rests.  After  suffering  much  distress  from  his  accumu- 
lating doubts,  upon  leaving  the  family  in  which  he  had  been 
residing  as  private  tutor,  he  went  to  live  at  St.  Andrew's  with 
Mr.  Miller,  who  states  of  him  that,  "  His  mind  was  at  that  time 
in  a  most  interesting,  but  unhappy  condition.  He  was  ear- 
nestly searching  for  the  truth,  saw  some  things  very  clearly  and 
satisfactorily,  but  could  not  find  his  way  to  the  understanding 
and  belief  of  some  of  the  most  obvious  doctrines  of  natural 
and  revealed  religion.  Those  who  were  not  particularly  ac- 
quainted with  him,  thought  him  fast  going  into  a  state  of 
derangement.  One  very  common  expression  in  his  public 
prayers,  and  which  showed  the  state  of  his  mind  at  that  time — 
*  Oh,  give  us  some  steady  object  for  our  mind  to  rest  upon,* 
was  uttered  with  all  his  characteristic  earnestness  and  empha- 
sis. I  knew  that  he  was  exceedingly  earnest  in  seeking  the 
light  of  truth  at  that  time  in  his  private  devotion,  and  was  often 
on  his  knees  at  my  bedside  after  I  had  gone  to  bed." 

To  a  mind  hke  his,  enthusiastically  fond  of  the  study  of 
nature,  and  incapable  of  repose  in  vague  notions,  the  book  of 
Holbach  was  the  most  ingenious  machine  of  torture,  converting 
his  daily  pursuits  into  instruments  of  continual  irritation,  and 
meeting  him  at  the  very  foundations  of  all  belief  with  a  regu- 
larly constructed  system  of  doubt.  The  infidel  labored  to 
prove  that  what  we  call  intellect,  is  only  the  result  of  organi- 
zation ;  that  organization  and  every  other  phenomenon,  having 
the  appearance  of  design,  was  only  the  multifarious  effects 
which  floAv  from  the  natural  development  of  the  essential  pro- 
perties of  matter  ;  that  truth  is  only  the  accidental  relation 
thus  arising  between  the  character  of  the  thinker  and  the  sub- 
ject of  his  thoughts,  and  that  it  is  quite  possible  that  to  minds 
differently  constituted,  our  truth  may  become  falsehood,  and 
falsehood  truth.  It  is  possible  that  the  terrors  of  this  philo- 
sophical skepticism  drove  Mr.  Chalmers  to  labor  with  the 
greater  zeal  in  the  field  of  natural  science,  conscious  that  he 
could  obtain  rest  only  by  thoroughly  investigating  and  settling 
his  opinions.     Here  the  instructions  of  Dr.  Robison  were  of 


.ET.  21.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  21 

incalculable  value  to  him,  setting  over  against  the  views  of  the 
skeptic,  the  harmonious  and  spontaneous  belief  of  all  mankind, 
in  which  the  native  faith  of  all  minds  is  confirmed  by  the  evi- 
dence of  sense  and  the  hourly  experience  of  all  living  beings; 
demonstrating  that  both  human  minds  and  material  things  are 
real  and  of  independent  existence,  and  consequently,  their 
adaptation,  the  one  to  the  other,  must  be  the  work  of  express 
design  to  that  effect.  Chalmers's  own  struggles  with  this  arti- 
fice of  unbelief,  led  him  frequently,  in  his  published  writings, 
to  recur  to  the  argument  by  which  it  was  dissipated  from  his 
own  mind. 

In  the  summer  of  1801,  he  made  another  visit  to  England,  j 
and  upon  his  return,  through  the  kindness  of  his  friend,  Mr. 
Shaw,  he  was  selected  to  fill  the  place  of  assistant  to  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Elliot,  of  Cavers,  a  "parish  in  Roxburghshire,  lying  along 
the  southern  banks  of  the  Teviot,  a  few  miles  below  Hawick." 
Mr.  Shaw  had  himself  occupied  that  situation,  but  was  now 
removed  to  the  neighboring  parish  of  Roberton.  His  residence 
was  about  seven  miles  from  the  church  of  Cavers,  and  it  was 
soon  arranged  that  they  should  live  together  in  the  manse  of 
Roberton,  which  meeting  no  opposition  from  Mr.  Chalmers's 
principal,  enabled  the  young  pastor  to  enjoy  the  counsel  and 
society  of  a  valuable  and  congenial  friend. 

While  this  arrangement  was  yet  maturing,  the  professor  of 
Church  History  in  St.  Andrew's,  died,  and  it  seems  that  Mr. 
Cook,  of  Kilmany,  was  immediately  thought  of  as  his  succes- 
sor. In  that  case,  the  church  of  Kilmany,  one  of  those  in  the 
gift  of  the  united  college  of  St.  Andrew's,  would  become 
vacant.  It  was  a  matter  of  no  great  difficulty  to  obtain,  among 
the  faculty  of  the  college,  a  majority  of  votes  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Chalmers  ;  but  as  some  time  might  elapse  before  that  could  be 
settled,  he  continued  his  services  in  Cavers. 

In  the  course  of  the  winter,  another  prospect  opened  up 
before  him,  still  more  accordant  to  his  then  predominant  likings. 
Professor  Yilant,  who  held  the  mathematical  chair  in  St.  An- 
drew's, had  long  been  an  invalid,  and  conducted  his  classes  by 
the  intervention  of  assistants.    Dr.  Brown,  the  assistant  during 


22  LIFE   OF   BR.    CHALMEKS.  1802. 

Mr.  Chalmers's  undergraduate  course,  had  been  removed  to 
the  professorship  of  Natural  Philosophy,  in  Glasgow.  The 
assistantship  had  since  passed  into  other  hands,  and  was  again 
vacant.  Had  Mr.  Chalmers's  *'aims  been  purely  professional, 
the  certainty  of  the  appointment  to  Kilmany  might  have  satis- 
fied him.  Nay,  if  anything  like  the  same  feeling  of  ministe- 
rial responsibility  which  he  afterward  entertained,  had  been 
then  experienced,  he  would  never  have  thought  of  undertaking 
an  office  requiring  such  very  laborious  preparations,  and  that 
on  the  eve  of  his  entrance  on  the  christian  ministry.  But,  as 
yet,  unvisited  with  those  profounder  sentiments,  as  to  the  ob- 
jects and  responsibilities  of  that  ministry,  science  still  swayed 
it  over  theology.  His  thirst  for  literary  distinction  was  in- 
tense. To  fill  the  mathematical  chair  in  one  of  our  universities, 
was  the  high  object  of  his  ambition.  To  this,  the  assistantship 
at  St  Andrew's,  might  prove  a  stepping-stone.  It  would  give 
him,  at  least,  the  opportunity  so  ardently  longed  for,  of  prov- 
ing and  exhibiting  his  capabilities  for  such  an  office.  In  spite, 
therefore,  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed, 
he  resolved  to  make  a  vigorous  effort  to  obtain  the  appoint- 
ment. Informed  that  his  presence  at  St.  Andrew's  was  desira- 
ble, he  left  Roberton  in  the  end  of  April,  to  return  in  a  few 
weeks,  not  only  with  the  assurance  reiterated  and  confirmed  of 
his  receiving  the  presentation  to  Kilmany,  but  with  the  mathe- 
matical assistantship  secured.  It  might  not  be  until  Whitsun- 
tide, of  the  following  year,  that  he  would  be  ordained  as  a  min- 
ister ;  in  November  he  would  enter  upon  the  duties  of  the 
mathematical  class.  Inflamed  by  the  literary  ardor  which  the 
prospect  now  before  him  had  kindled,  he  returned  to  Teviot- 
dale,  resolved  to  devote  the  summer  months  to  strenuous 
study  ;"  and  so  faithfully  did  he  carry  out  his  resolution,  that 
when  November  arrived,  his  preparations  were  nearly  com- 
plete. 

As  early  as  the  beginning  of  September,  he  left  his  country 
congregation,  in  order  to  pursue  his  studies  more  favorably  at 
St.  Andrew's.  **  Early  in  October,  Mr.  Cook  resigned  the 
living  of  Kilmany  ;  and  on  the  2d  of  November,  the  principal 


^T.  23.  LIFE    OF    DK.    ClIALMEKS.  23 

and  professors  cordially  and  unanimously  agreed  to  elect  Mr. 
Chalmers  his  successor." 

His  ordination  was  not  to  take  place  until  next  spring,  and 
in  the  meanwhile  he  devoted  himself  with  the  most  ardent  en- 
thusiasm to  the  business  of  his  classes.  Instead  of  contenting 
himself,  as  mathematical  teachers  commonly  do,  with  the  bald 
abstractions  constituting  the  science,  he  labored  to  exhibit 
them  in  all  the  interesting  associations  with  which  they  were 
conuv'cted  in  his  own  mind.  The  connections  of  mathematics 
with  the  various  fields  of  natural  science  and  the  arts,  were 
habitually  presented  before  his  pupils,  rendering  the  study,  as 
one  of  his  pupils  writes,  ''hardly  less  a  play  of  the  fancy  than 
a  labor  of  the  intellect ;  the  lessons  of  the  day  being  continu- 
ally interspersed  with  applications  and  illustrations  of  the  most 
lively  nature  :  so  that  he  secured,  in  a  singular  manner,  the 
confidence  and  attachment  of  his  pupils."  From  the  frag- 
ments of  his  lectures  delivered  this  session,  it  is  clear  that, 
with  all  his  passion  for  science  and  remarkable  success  in  its 
pursuit,  the  orator  in  his  intellectual  character  overruled  the 
mathematician.  The  old  professor  was  astonished  and  alarnied 
at  the  reports  which  reached  him  of  the  eloquence  and  enthu- 
siasm which,  under  the  influence  of  his  new  assistant,  were 
lighting  up  the  subject  over  which  he  had  so  long  presided  in 
dignified  apathy.  His  disapprobation  was  expressed,  and 
attempts  were  made  to  interfere  and  to  dictate  to  the  assistant 
a  method  more  consistent  with  the  dull  routine  of  other  days. 
It  was  granted  that  the  classes  were  more  thoroughly  instruct- 
ed, and  interested  in  the  study  to  an  unprecedented  degree ; 
but  because  they  had  not  gone  over  the  same  extent  of  ground 
as  in  former  years,  occasion  was  taken  to  malign  the  profes- 
sional character  of  the  instructor.  It  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  one  of  Mr.  Chalmers's  ardent  temperament,  and  "so 
keenly  alive  to  everything  which  he  considered  ungenerous  and 
unjust,"  should  endure  in  silence.  In  closing  the  session,  he 
expressed  his  opinion  of  the  conduct  of  his  superior  both  before 
his  class  and  before  the  professors  assembled  at  examination. 
On  the  latter  occasion,  he  was  so  sarcastic  and  vehement  in  his 


24  LIFE   OF    DR.    OHALMEKS.  1808. 

remarks  on  the  conduct  of  professor  Vilant,  that  the  chairman 
of  the  board  found  it  necessary  to  call  him  to  order. 

"  Mr.  Chalmers  had  already  intimated  to  his  father  that  he 
meant  to  devote  to  a  visit  to  Edinburgh  the  short  interval 
which  would  occur  between  the  breaking  up  of  the  classes  at 
St.  Andrew's  and  his  settlement  at  Kilmany.  His  father  dis- 
liked the  proposition.  He  knew  how  engrossed  his  son  had 
been  throughout  the  winter  with  mathematics.  He  looked 
forward  with  anxiety  to  the  commencement  of  his  ministry. 
He  feared  that  science  had  the  hold  which  he  wished  so  much 
that  the  gospel  of  God's  redeeming  grace  should  have  ;  and 
thinking  that  the  short  season,  which  now  remained  ere  the 
sacred  duties  of  an  ambassador  of  Christ  were  entered  on, 
might  be  more  fitly  and  profitably  employed,  he  ventured  to 
remonstrate  with  his  son,  suggesting  that,  as  they  had  seen  so 
little  of  him  during  the  winter,  he  might  give  this  interval  to 
Anstruther,  where  he  could  find  seclusion  and  repose."  The 
reply  was  more  in  the  spirit  of  self-righteousness  and  assumed 
superiority  than  any  other  of  its  author  that  has  yet  been  pub- 
lished. It  took  for  granted  that  he  was  fully  prepared  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry  and  stood  in  no  need  of  any  special  season 
of  preparation,  and  that  regarding  his  literary  motives  they  were 
of  a  kind  above  the  reach  of  his  father's  comprehension.  It 
would  be  most  painful  to  read  but  for  the  consideration  that 
the  time  came  when  no  one  would  have  condemned  it  more 
than  its  author. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Mr.  Chalmers  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  gospel  min- 
istry in  the  parish  of  Kilmany,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1803. 
Notwithstanding  the  low  estimate  he  had  formed  of  his  profes- 
sion, he  proved  by  no  means  neglectful  of  the  external  duties 
belonging  to  it.  His  preparations  for  the  pulpit  were  made 
with  care,  and  the  work  of  pastoral  visiting  and  catechizing 
was  performed  with  all  fidelity  to  established  form,  while 
the  zeal  and  warmth  of  his  character  won  the  esteem  and 
affections  of  his  parishioners.  Still  he  did  not  resign  his  hopes 
of  distinction  and  had  counted  upon  retaining  his  place  at  St. 
Andrew's.  In  consequence,  however,  of  the  assault  made 
by  him  upon  his  principal,  professor  Yilant,  at  the  close  of  the 
term,  and  perhaps  of  the  professor's  dissatisfaction  with  his 
manner  of  teaching,  he  had  received  information  that  his  ser- 
vices would  not  be  required  there  any  further.  This  step,  on 
the  part  of  his  principal,  he  considered  as  an  attempt  to  blast 
his  reputation  and  to  put  him  down  as  incompetent,  without 
affording  him  an  opportunity  to  vindicate  himself  from  misre- 
presentation :  an  indignity  and  injustice  to  which  he  was 
determined  not  to  submit.  The  setting  up  of  a  private  class, 
in  opposition  to  those  in  college,  was  somewhat  new  in  Scot- 
land, and  would  excite  much  hostility  as  well  as  astonishment ; 
but  conceiving  such  a  step  necessary  to  his  reputation  as  a 
teachei',  he  resolved  to  adopt  it.  Accordingly  he  declared  Ijis 
intention  to  open  mathematical  classes  of  his  own  in  St.  An- 
drew's, under  the  very  eyes  of  the  man  who  had  attempted 
to  dishonor  him.  The  attendance,  notwithstanding  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  college  faculty,  was  such  as  to  encourage  the  young 
adventurer  to  further  enterprise,  and  toward  the  end  of  Decem- 
ber he  commenced  a  course  of  lectures  on  chemistry,  which  were 
still  more  fully  attended.  He  had  now  three  classes  of  stu- 
dents in  mathematics  and  one  in  chemistry,  as  well  as  his 
^  '  (25) 


26  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1804. 

pulpit  in  Kilmany,  to  supply  any  one  of  which,  to  most  young 
men  of  three-and-twenty,  would  have  been  work  of  abundant 
toil.  Yet  he  writes  of  it  as  ''just  the  life  for  which  he  was 
formed  —  a  life  of  constant  and  unremitting  activity."  He 
spent  most  of  the  week  in  St.  Andrew's,  going  out  to  Kilmany 
every  Saturday  and  returning  early  on  Monday.  Such  was 
the  excellence  of  his  instructions,  and  perhaps,  more  than  all, 
the  eloquence  with  which  they  were  enforced,  that  his  popu- 
larity as  an  instructor  rapidly  increased,  and  the  opposition 
which  bitterly  encountered  him  at  first,  gradually  yielded  to 
the  course  of  the  tide.  The  youth  who,  unfriended  and 
single-handed,  had  entered  the  lists  with  the  university,  not 
out  of  wanton  bravado,  not  from  selfish  obtrusion,  but  in 
order  to  remove  a  stain  unjustly  cast  upon  his  reputation,  had 
completely  triumphed. 

A  journal  kept  during  that  winter  goes  to  prove  how  thor- 
oughly scientific  ambition  then  engrossed  all  the  warmest  feel- 
ings of  his  soul.  His  church  and  the  cause  of  God  in  the  soul 
of  man,  certainly  occupied  the  inferior  place  in  his  esteem;  and 
it  only  sets  the  matter  in  a  more  unfavorable  light,  if  his  con- 
gregation perceived  in  his  conduct  no  particular  reason  to  be 
dissatisfied.  Some  of  the  ministers  of  his  presbytery,  how- 
ever, saw  the  impropriety  of  it,  and  determined  to  use  their 
influence  to  impose  a  check  upon  it.  If  they  had  previously 
indulged  other  ministers  in  a  similar  course,  they  were  to  be 
pitied  for  that,  rather  than  blamed  for  the  juster  views  which 
they  now  maintained.  His  defense  was  ably  written  ;  but 
presents  no  argument  higher  than  his  literary  reputation,  and 
indeed  assumes  that  in  vindication  thereof,  he  was  fully  justi- 
fied in  neglecting,  to  such  a  degree,  the  high  responsibilities 
he  had  assumed  to  the  souls  of  men.  The  case  was  not  brought 
before  presbytery  so  soon  as  he  expected,  and  next  winter  he 
determined  to  repeat  his  chemical  lectures  in  St.  Andrew's, 
deeming  it  sufiScient  concession  to  the  objections  of  his  breth- 
ren to  have  relinquished  the  intention  of  re-opening  mathemati- 
cal classes.  In  view  of  this  determination,  "  at  a  meeting  of 
the  presbytery  of  Cupar,  held  on  the  4th  of  September,  1804, 


JET.  24.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  27 

Dr.  Martin  begged  the  presbytery  to  insert  in  their  minutes 
that,  in  his  opinion,  Mr.  Chalmers's  giving  lectures  in  chemistry 
is  improper,  and  ought  to  be  discontinued.  To  this  request  the 
presbytery  acceded.  On  which  Mr.  Chalmers  begged  it  to  be 
inserted  in  the  minutes,  that  after  the  punctual  discharge  of 
his  professional  duties,  his  time  was  his  own  ;  and  he  con- 
ceived that  no  man  or  no  court  had  a  right  to  control  him  in 
the  distribution  of  it."  In  his  defense  there  was  no  better 
spirit  manifested  than  that  of  a  high-minded  man  of  the  world. 
He  challenges  comparison  with  other  clergymen  —  maintains 
that  he  had  fully  satisfied  all  the  demands  of  his  profession, 
and  defies  his  opponent  to  "  find  a  single  individual  "  of  his 
parishioners  who  would  say  that  he  had  been  outstripped  by  any 
of  his  predecessors  in  the  regularity  of  his  ministerial  atten- 
tions, or  that  anything  had  been  discovered  in  his  conduct  be- 
tokening a  contempt  for  religion,  or  indifference  for  its  sacred 
interests  ;  and  closes  with  an  expression  of  hightoned  resent- 
ment of  the  interference  with  what  he  deemed  his  rights.  He 
*'  spurns  the  attempt  as  he  would  the  petty  insolence  of  a  ty- 
rant," and  declares  that  to  the  last  sigh  of  his  heart  he  ''would 
struggle  for  independence,  and  eye  with  proud  disdain  the 
man  who  presumes  to  invade  it,"  with  other  expressions  char- 
acteristic of  the  impetuous  youth  of  noble  feelings  and  lofty 
ambition  ;  but  not  one  trace  of  the  Christian.  Accordingly, 
in  utter  contempt  of  this  remonstrance,  he  resumed  his  chemi- 
cal lectures  at  St.  Andrew's  in  the  succeeding  l!s^ovember,  spend- 
ing two  days  every  week  in  that  way — spare  time,  which  ho 
says,  in  a  letter  of  that  day,  would  otherwise  have  been  fret- 
ted "away  in  indolence  and  disgust."  In  the  meanwhile,  upon 
the  death  of  Dr.  Rotheram,  professor  of  Natural  Philosophy  in 
St.  Andrew's,  Mr.  Chalmers  presented  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  the  vacant  chair,  but  without  success.  Again,  in  the  fol- 
lowing January,  when  Dr.  Robison,  Professor  of  Natural  Philos- 
ophy in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  died,  and  Professor  Play  fair 
was  removed  to  that  department,  he  entered  the  lists  as  a  com- 
petitor for  the  professorship  of  mathematics  ;  but  there  also 
failed  to  obtain  the  favorable  notice  of  the  electors,  who  were 


28  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1805. 

divided  between  Mr.  Leslie  and  Mr.  Macnight,  one  of  the  min- 
isters of  Edinburgh.  Though  the  former  was  the  successful 
candidate,  the  design  of  the  latter  to  retain  his  pastoral  charge, 
in  case  of  his  election  to  the  professorship,  gave  rise  to  a  dis- 
cussion, in  which  Mr.  Chalmers,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
took  a  prominent  part.  Professors  Playfair  and  Stewart  had 
each  addressed  letters  to  the  lord  provost,  in  which  they  remon- 
strated against  ministers,  in  possession  of  a  pastoral  charge, 
holding  also  a  professorship  ;  and  Mr.  Playfair  had  also  urged 
that  not  only  were  few  clergymen  in  the  church  of  Scotland 
competent  to  the  duties  of  a  mathematical  professorship,  but 
that  the  successful  pursuit  of  science  was  "incompatible  with 
clerical  duties  and  habits."  Mr.  Chalmers  resented  this  as  a 
**  cruel  and  illiberal  insinuation  "  against  *'  the  whole  order  of 
churchmen,"  and  responded  at  length  in  a  pamphlet  published 
under  the  title,  *'  Observations  on  a  Passage  in  Mr.  Play  fair's 
Letter  to  the  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  relative  to  the  Math- 
ematical pretensions  of  the  Scottish  Clergy,"  in  which,  by  his 
zeal  to  vindicate  the  science  of  his  brother  ministers,  he  pre- 
sents a  lamentable  view  of  their  professional  fidelity.  ''  The 
author  of  this  pamphlet,"  he  said,  ''  can  assert,  from  what  to 
him  is  the  highest  of  all  authority,  the  authority  of  his  own 
experience,  that  after  the  satisfactory  discharge  of  his  parish 
duties,  a  minister  may  enjoy  five  days'  uninterrupted  leisure 
for  the  prosecution  of  any  science  in  which  his  taste  may  dis- 
pose him  to  engage  ;"  and  his  estimate  of  the  dignity  of  his 
profession  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  he  speaks  of  one 
confined  to  it  and  excluded  from  literary  and  scientific  distinc- 
tion, as  *'a  being  who  must  bid  adieu  to  every  flattering  anticipa- 
tion, and  drivel  out  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  insignificance." 
His  ambition  was  also  apparent  in  the  zeal  with  which  he  urged 
the  sale  of  his  pamphlet,  and  the  obvious  desire  to  earn  a  little 
literary  reputation  from  it. 

The  succeeding  winter  (1805),  he  dehvered  a  course  of 
chemical  lectures  to  his  parishioners  at  Kilmany,  and  also  at  the 
neighboring  town  of  Cupar.  His  intensely  energetic  mind,  yet 
unenlightened  as  to  the  resources  and  full  demands  of  his  sa- 


iET.  25.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  29 

cred  calling,  craved  occupation  from  other  fields  of  effort,  and 
labored  from  the  mere  love  of  activity.  Nor  were  these  intellect- 
ual enterprises  enough  to  exhaust  his  exuberant  energy  ;  the 
great  public  events  of  that  stirring  time  occupied  their  full 
share  of  his  attention.  The  career  of  Bonaparte,  from  the  first, 
had  been  to  him  an  object  of  profound  interest ;  and  when  the 
threat  of  invasion  impended  over  the  country,  he  did  not  con- 
tent himself  with  lifting  up  his  voice  in  the  pulpit  against  the 
national  enemy,  but  also  enrolled  himself  in  the  St.  Andrew's 
corps  of  volunteers,  "  holding  a  double  commission  as  chaplain 
and  lieutenant."  While  on  service  in  that  body  in  1805,  an 
incident  occurred  which  goes,  together  with  many  other  things, 
to  prove  the  impulsive  generosity  of  his  nature,  even  before 
it  was  actuated  by  the  holier  motive  of  pious  benevolence.  In 
the  outskirts  of  the  town  of  Kirkaldy,  "  where  his  corps  was 
then  on  permanent  duty,  he  recognized  an  old  acquaintance,  a 
member  of  the  secession  church,  whose  family  was  sunk  in 
poverty,  and  visited  with  fever.  Anxious  to  contribute  to  their 
relief,  Mr.  Chalmers  requested  Mr.  Fleming,  the  minister  of 
Kirkaldy,  to  give  him  the  use  of  his  pulpit,  that  he  might 
preach  a  sermon,  and  make  a  collection  on  behalf  of  the  suf- 
ferers. Knowing  the  applicant  only  as  the  author  of  the 
recently  published  pamphlet,  and  as  one  addicted  more  to  lec- 
tures on  chemistry  than  to  purely  professional  effort,  Mr. 
Fleming  refused.  The  will,  however,  was  too  strong  not  to 
find  for  itself  a  way.  Although  Mr.  Chalmers  could  not  get 
a  pulpit  to  preach,  he  could  find  a  room  to  lecture  in.  A  suit- 
able apartment  was  forthwith  engaged;  a  course  of  lectures  on 
chemistry  was  announced.  Though  the  admission  ticket  was 
somewhat  high  in  price,  goodly  audiences  crowded  nightly 
around  the  lecturer ;  and  at  the  close,  he  had  the  exquisite 
satisfaction  of  handing  over  to  a  respectable,  but  unfortunate 
family,  what  not  only  relieved  them  from  present  distress,  but 
supported  them  for  some  time  afterward  in  comfort."  The 
same  feature  of  his  character  appeared  also  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  people  of  his  pastoral  charge,  and  his  kindness  to 
the  poor  old  man  who  had  been  the  imperfect  teacher  of  his 


30  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1806. 

boyhood.  His  house  had  generally  as  many  of  his  younger 
brothers  and  sisters  in  it,  as  it  could  conveniently  accommo- 
date, and  of  the  education  of  some  of  them,  he  assumed  the 
principal  care  as  well  as  expense.  Though  he  had  ceased  to 
lecture  at  St.  Andrew's,  he  still  continued  to  spend  most  of  his 
time  during  the  winter  in  that  place,  superintending  the  edu- 
cation of  his  younger  brother,  Charles. 

In  the  spring  of  1806,  his  brother  George,  who  had  been  at 
sea  for  several  years,  returned  with  a  constitution  already  un- 
dermined by  the  progress  of  consumption.  For  some  time  he 
resided  at  Kilmany,  but  in  October,  removed  to  his  father's 
house,  at  Anstruther,  where  Thomas  followed  him,  and  never 
left  him  until  he  died.  The  calm  resignation  and  elevated 
piety  of  that  favorite  brother,  seems  to  have  had  a  most  salu- 
tary effect  upon  Mr.  Chalmers's  mind.  Although  in  the  end 
of  October  he  wrote  of  him  as  having  "  all  the  manly  indiffer- 
ence of  his  profession,"  and  as  being  "  perfectly  resigned  under 
the  confident  idea  that  his  death  is  inevitable,"  he  must  have 
felt  compelled,  ere  the  earthly  career  of  that  pious  brother  was 
closed,  to  refer  his  composure  to  something  higher  than  manly 
indifference  or  blind  resignation  to  inevitable  destiny.  *' Every 
evening,  at  George's  own  request,  one  of  Newton's  sermons 
was  read  at  his  bedside,  by  some  member  of  the  family  in  ro- 
tation. It  was  one  of  the  very  books  which,  a  short  time  pre- 
viously, Thomas  had  named,  and  denounced  from  the  pulpit. 
Bending  over  the  pulpit,  and  putting  on  the  books  named  the 
strong  emphasis  of  dislike,  he  had  said,  *'  Many  books  are  fa- 
vorites with  you,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  are  no  favorites  of 
mine.  When  you  are  reading  Newton's  Sermons,  and  Baxter's 
Saint's  Rest,  and  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress,  where  do 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John  go  to  ?"  As  he  now  read  one 
of  these  books  to  his  dying  brother,  and  witnessed  the  support 
and  consolation  which  its  truths  conveyed,  strange  misgivings 
must  have  visited  him.  He  was  in  the  room,  when  those  pale 
and  trembling  lips  were  heard  to  say,  **  I  thank  thee,  0  Father, 
Lord  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  that  thou  hast  hid  these  things  from 
the  wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed  them  unto  babes."     Per- 


MT,  26.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  31 

haps,  as  the  words  were  uttered,  the  thought  arose,  that  in  his 
own  case,  as  compared  with  that  of  his  brother,  the  words 
might  be  verified.  In  company  with  a  weeping  household,  he 
bent  over  the  parting  scene,  and  heard  the  closing  testimony 
given,  "  Lord,  nowlettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation."  George  died  on  the  16th 
December,  1806.  It  was  the  first  death  of  a  near  relative 
which  Thomas  had  witnessed,  and  the  deep  impression  which 
it  made,  was  the  first  step  toward  his  own  true  and  thorough 
conversion  unto  God." 

A  few  weeks  after  this  event,  Mr.  Chalmers  paid  a  visit  to 
his  brother  James,  who  had  now  taken  up  his  residence  in  Lon- 
don. The  journal  kept  during  that  trip,  bears  evidence  to  the 
range  and  minuteness  of  his  observations,  and  the  practical 
turn  of  his  mind.  It  discusses  the  characters  met  in  traveling, 
descriptions  of  scenery,  of  mechanical  operations  and  inven- 
tions, of  chemical  apparatus  and  lectures,  of  works  of  art,  of 
plants,  of  natural  scenery,  of  landscape  gardening,  manufac- 
tories, antiquities,  objects  of  historical  interest,  life  and  man- 
ners, preachers,  political  speakers  and  speeches,  the  palaces, 
the  royal  family,  the  theater,  and  actors.  In  short,  no  class 
of  objects  seems  to  have  escaped  his  attention,  except  those, 
which  a  few  years  later,  absorbed  the  whole  enthusiasm  of  his 
nature.  He  also  visited  the  great  universities  of  England,  but 
was  most  interested  in  Cambridge,  from  its  association  with  the 
name  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  who  was  the  object  of  his  highest 
admiration.  On  his  way  home,  he  delayed  at  Alnwick,  to  look 
upon  the  ancient  halls  of  the  Percies,  and  the  ruins  on  Holy 
Isle  ;  after  which,  making  his  way  on  foot  along  the  banks  of 
the  Tweed  and  the  Teviot,  in  about  a  week  he  reached  the 
house  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Shaw,  of  Roberton.  In  that  hospita- 
ble family  he  was  detained  longer  than  he  had  intended.  Mr. 
Shaw's  account  of  this  part  of  his  journey  admits  us  to  an  in- 
teresting view  of  some  features  of  his  character:  "I  proposed 
when  he  left,  to  accompany  him  to  Dr.  Hardie's  (about  six 
miles  distant),  whence  he  intended  to  get  to  Penny  cook  next 
day.     We  set  out  accordingly  on  a  Monday  after  breakfast. 


S2  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMEBS.  1307. 

The  next  morning,  I  expressed  a  wisli  that  we  should  go  as  far 
as  Galashiel's,  and  call  on  Dr.  Douglass,  to  which  he  consented, 
on  condition  that  it  must  be  only  a  short  call.  There,  however, 
we  were  induced  to  spend  the  day.  Next  morning,  we  took 
our  departure  on  the  way  to  Peebles ;  but  in  passing  the  hos- 
pitable residence  of  a  family,  with  whom  I  was  intimately  con- 
nected, I  prevailed  on  him  to  call,  and  being  much  delighted 
with  our  kind  reception,  we  remained  till  next  morning,  when 
we  took  our  leave,  after  breakfast.  On  our  way  up  the  Tweed, 
I  suggested  the  propriety  of  our  calling  on  my  friend,  Nicol, 
of  Traquair,  whose  manse  was  situated  only  about  half  a  mile 
off  the  road  ;  *  Well,  sir,'  was  the  reply,  *  but  it  must  be  only 
for  a  minute  or  two,  as  I  must  get  to  Pennycook  this  night.' 
There,  however,  we  spent  the  day  most  comfortably,  and  in 
the  evening,  were  so  delighted  with  the  music  of  the  piano, 
that  we  could  not  refrain  dancing  a  few  merry  reels.  At  last, 
Chalmers  took  hold  of  my  arm,  and  exclaimed,  '  It's  out  of  the 
question,  my  getting  home  this  week.  You  have  a  good  horse, 
so  you  must  just  proceed  to-morrow  morning  to  Kilmany,  and 
I  will  go  back  to  Roberton.'  To  this  proposal  I  readily  agreed. 
Nicol  was  amazed,  and  seemed  to  think  we  were  both  getting 
deranged.  On  awakening  next  morning,  and  perceiving  that 
it  rained,  I  began  to  groan  a  little,  when  my  friend  pulled  me 
out  of  bed,  and  ordered  me  to  set  off  with  all  convenient  speed. 
Off,  I  accordingly  rode,  and  reached  Kilmany  about  eight 
o'clock  at  night.  Chalmers  went  from  Nicol's  to  Hardie's  on 
Friday — we  parted  at  Traquair — and  on  Saturday,  to  Roberton 
parish,  where  he  wrote  a  poetical  farewell  to  Teviotdale,  and 
preached  a  brilliant  sermon  on  *  Look  not  on  the  wine  when  it 
is  red.'  (Prov.  xxiii,  31).  Afterward,  on  his  way  home,  he 
called  at  Abbotshall,  and  gave  me  a  minute  and  amusing  ac- 
count of  all  his  proceedings,  concluding  with  high  glee  and 
emphasis,  *  This  famous  exploit  will  immortalize  us,  sir.'  I 
regret  that  I  cannot  find  his  Farewell  to  Teviotdale,  which  I 
must  have  somehow  mislaid." 

From  this  time  forward,  his  conduct  is  marked  by  more 
steady  residence  in  his  parish,  and  attention  to  his  pastoral 


MT.  27.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  33 

duties,  but  without  any  apparent  change  in  the  state  of  his  affec- 
tions toward  God.  Lectures  on  chemistry  were  discarded  for 
discussions  on  political  economy.  The  new  subject  could  be 
treated  without  wandering  from  the  bounds  of  his  own  study, 
and  naturally  awakened  a  warmer  interest  in  men  and  their  tem- 
poral well-being  in  his  mind — a  mind  that  never  suffered  any  of 
its  ideas  to  slumber  in  the  abstract.  He  was  now  employed  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  year  1 807,  in  preparing  his  work  on  the 
*'  Stability  of  National  Resources,"  called  forth  by  the  then 
existing  circumstances  of  the  British  nation.  Napoleon,  by 
means  of  his  continental  system,  had  excluded  British  com- 
merce from  all  the  ports  to  which  his  influence  extended,  cut- 
ting off,  as  it  seemed,  the  principal  resources  of  his  enemy,  at 
a  time  when  she  was  involved  in  a  most  expensive  war.  The 
fears  excited  on  this  occasion,  Mr.  Chalmers  considered  en- 
tirely groundless,  and  endeavored  to  prove  that  if  his  country 
were  without  commerce,  she  would  only  be  deprived  of  some 
expensive  luxuries,  but  not  of  the  wealth  whereby  they  are 
bought,  and  therefore,  really  stronger  in  internal  resources, 
and  better  able  to  sustain  the  government  in  keeping  up  the 
war,  than  before.  The  topics  treated  were  of  great  and  im- 
mediate importance,  and  at  that  time,  occupied  much  of  public 
attention,  and  were  treated  by  the  ablest  political  writers  of 
that  day,  yet  the  work  of  the  young  minister  of  Kilmany  is 
distinguished  among  them  all  for  largeness  of  view,  and  the 
practicalness  of  its  suggestions.  Some  of  its  propositions, 
though  undervalued  at  the  time,  as  the  offspring  of  an  unknown 
author,  have  since  become  operative  principles  of  the  British 
government.  He  was  impeded  in  the  completion  of  this  work 
by  a  protracted  illness,  so  that  it  was  not  brought  out  until  the 
spring  of  1808.  A  small  edition  was  printed  in  Edinburgh, 
and  the  sale  being  very  fair,  suggested  the  idea  of  a  new 
edition  from  the  London  press.  On  this  point,  he  manifested 
considerable  anxiety,  and  interested  both  his  brother  and  Mr. 
Wilkie  in  its  behalf;  but  their  negotiations  with  booksellers 
were  not  successful.  He  concluded  to  go  up  to  London,  and 
attend  to  the  manasfement  of  the  business  himself,  but  Provi- 


34  LIFE   OF  DR.   CHALMERS.  1809. 

dence  ordered  it  otherwise,  and  he  was  detained  in  a  place  more 
conducive  to  the  growth  of  rehgion  in  his  soul — the  sick,  dark 
room  of  a  dying  sister.  The  same  disease  which  had  removed 
his  brother  George,  had  now  laid  its  inexorable  hand  upon  his 
sister  Barbara,  and  another  beautiful  proof  was  set  before  the 
ambitious  man,  of  the  value  of  that  heavenly  hope,  which  is  as 
an  anchor  of  the  soul,  sure  and  steadfast,  of  the  reality  of  the 
believer's  possession  amid  the  imperfect  and  fleeting  objects  of 
temporal  desire.  His  sister  died  on  the  19th  of  August,  1808, 
and  next  day,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother  James,  he  declared  that 
he  had  no  decided  intentions  regarding  his  book. 

Some  months  previous  to  his  sister's  death  he  had  been 
requested  by  Dr.  Brewster  to  become  a  contributor  to  the 
Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  and  had  chosen  the  article  Trigono- 
metry. But  after  his  sister's  death  he  wrote  again  to  Dr. 
Brewster,  requesting  that  the  article  Christianity  might  Be 
committed  to  him,  and  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  to  whom  it  had 
been  already  assigned,  consented  to  give  it  up  upon  learning 
Mr.  Chalmers's  desire  to  undertake  it.  He  expressed  extreme 
desire  to  do  the  subject  justice  and  resolved  to  take  up  his 
abode  for  three  or  four  months  at  St.  Andrew's  for  the  purpose 
of  having  access  to  the  necessary  authorities.  On  the  8th  of 
February,  1809,  he  preached  his  sermon  on  the  occasion  of  the 
battle  of  Corunna,  to  a  small  body  of  his  parishioners,  collected 
through  the  storm  in  his  own  dining-room  at  Kilmany.  On 
the  25th  of  May  succeeding,  he  made  his  first  speech  before 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  in  support 
of  an  overture  from  the  Presbytery  of  Cupar  relative  to  the 
act  regulating  the  augmentation  of  clergymen's  salaries. 
Through  neglect  of  the  necessary  formalities  the  motion  was 
lost ;  but  the  power  of  the  address  had  awakened  the  attention 
of  the  Assembly  to  the  fact,  that  a  master-mind  was  rising  up 
among  them.  **  Do  you  know  anything  of  this  man  ?"  said 
Dr.  Campbell,  a  minister  who  sat  near  him,  ''  he  is  surely  a 
most  extraordinary  person."  The  question  was  on  many  lips 
beside  Dr.  Campbell's  as  the  speaker  sat  down.  He  was  beset 
with  solicitations  to  publish  his  address,  and  when  these  were 


iET.  29.  LIFE   OF   DR.   CHALMERS.  35 

urged  by  such  men  as  Dr.  Brewster  and  Dr.  Andrew  Thom- 
son, it  would  have  been  the  falsest  delicacy  to  decline.  The 
speech  was  accordingly  committed  to  the  press. 

On  his  return  from  Edinburgh  he  was  met  by  the  tidings  of  the 
death  of  an  uncle  who  had  long  been  a  "  kind  of  second  father  to 
his  nephews  and  nieces."  "  Mr.  Ballardie's  wife  had  been  dead 
for  many  years,  and  his  house  had  been  kept  by  her  sister." 
One  evening  he  retired  to  his  room  after  tea.  He  remained 
longer  than  usual  and  his  sister-in-law,  entering  his  room, 
found  him  kneehng  by  a  chair.  His  spirit  had  passed  away 
in  the  very  act  of  prayer.  He  left  his  nephew,  Thomas,  the 
heir  of  his  house,  and,  along  with  his  father,  constituted  him 
his  trustee.  But  Mr.  Chalmers  had  contracted  a  severe  illness 
on  his  Avay  home  from  the  Assembly,  which  prevented  his 
leaving  Kilmany  till  the  beginning  of  August.  He  visited 
Anstruther  in  the  close  of  September,  but  some  exposure,  on 
his  return,  threw  him  into  a  long  sickness,  in  which,  for  four 
months,  he  never  left  his  room  ;  for  half  a  year  he  was  unable 
to  appear  in  his  pulpit,  and  twelve  months  elapsed  before  he 
could  again  discharge  all  the  duties  of  his  office.  At  the  time 
he  was  residing  at  the  farm-house  of  Fincrags  while  the  manse 
of  Kilmany  was  undergoing  repairs.  His  illness,  which  was  a 
disease  of  the  liver,  requiring  the  application  of  the  strongest 
medicines,  reduced  him  to  the  last  degree  of  bodily  debility ; 
*'  but  the  mind  was  left  in  untouched  vigor,  and  into  it,  now 
left  to  its  own  profound  and  solitary  musings,  there  sunk  the 
deepest  and  most  overpowering  impression  of  human  mor- 
tality." The  repeated  deaths  of  those  whom  he  loved,  and 
now  the  belief  that  his  own  end  was  near  bore  forcibly  in  upon 
him  the  truth  of  the  shortness  of  mortal  existence  and  the 
conviction  that  all  of  it  is  needed  for  the  accomplishment  of  all 
its  duties.  In  February  of  the  next  year,  he  thus  wrote  to  his 
friend,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carstairs,  of  Anstruther  :  "  My  confine- 
ment has  fixed  on  my  heart  a  very  strong  impression  of  the 
insignificance  of  time ;  an  impression  which,  I  trust,  will  not 
abandon  me  though  I  again  reach  the  heyday  of  health  and 
vigor.     This  should  be  the  first  step  to  another  impression  still 


36  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMEES.  1810. 

more  salutary,  the  magnitude  of  eternity.  Strip  human  life 
of  its  connection  with  a  higher  scene  of  existence,  and  it  is  the 
illusion  of  an  instant,  an  unmeaning  farce,  a  series  of  visions 
and  projects,  and  convulsive  efforts,  which  terminate  in 
nothing.  I  have  been  reading  Paschal's  thoughts  on  religion : 
you  know  his  history ;  a  man  of  the  richest  endowments,  and/ 
whose  youth  was  signalized  by  his  profound  and  original  spe-. 
culations  in  mathematical  science,  but  who  could  stop  short  in^ 
the  brilliant  career  of  discovery,  who  could  resign  all  the 
splendors  of  literary  reputation,  who  could  renounce,  without 
a  sigh,  all  the  distinctions  which  are  conferred  upon  genius, 
and  resolve  to  devote  every  talent  and  every  hour  to  the  de- 
fense and  illustration  of  the  Gospel.  This,  my  dear  sir,  is 
superior  to  all  Greek  and  to  all  Roman  fame.'* 


CHAPTER   III. 

Mr.  Chalmers  had  now  entered  upon  a  new  era  of  exist- 
ence. Those  long  months  of  sickness  and  hourly  contempla- 
tion of  impending  death,  deepening  the  solemn  impression 
already  made  by  the  last  hours  of  his  brother  and  sister,  and 
bringing  up  before  him  in  strong  contrast  the  littleness  of  time, 
and  grandeur  of  eternity,  caused  him  to  look  back  upon  his 
past  life  with  profound  regret  and  condemnation.  He  perceived 
that,  while  holding  the  place  of  a  minister  of  Christ,  he  had 
been  pre-eminently  attached  to  the  pursuits  and  honors  of  the 
world  ;  that  he  had  not  labored  for  eternity  ;  that  although  his 
views  of  God  had  been  sublime,  and  in  many  respects  scrip- 
tural; though  he  had  enjoyed  large  adoring  thoughts  of  the 
Creator  and  sovereign  ruler  of  all,  he  had  never  known  that 
humble,  childlike  faith  and  love  by  which  the  renewed  soul 
reposes  upon  God  in  Christ  as  the  gratuitous  giver  of  a  com- 
plete salvation  to  which  the  sinner  can  add  nothing  of  his  own. 
He  felt  that  he  had  been  proud  and  self-righteous,  and  that  he 
had  not  given  himself  to  the  work  of  the  Lord  with  singleness 
of  purpose.  Now  recognizing  his  Almighty  Master's  right  to 
the  service  of  all  the  powers  of  his  being,  he  resolved,  if  life 
should  be  prolonged,  henceforth  to  live  for  God,  and  to  de- 
vote himself  more  assiduously  to  all  the  duties  of  his  sacred 
calling. 

With  this  change  of  feeling  a  corresponding  change  took 
place  in  his  speculative  belief.  Views  of  the  depravity  of  hu- 
man nature,  which  previously  he  would  have  rejected  with  dis- 
dain, grew  up  before  him,  and  enlarged,  though  still  imperfect 
conceptions  of  the  atonement  occupied  his  mind.  For  some 
time  longer  he  relied  upon  his  own  determination  to  conform  to 
the  principles  of  divine  law.  It  cost  the  struggle  of  another 
year  before  he  could  assign  the  whole  credit  and  work  of  salva- 
tion to  the  Saviour,  and  that  only  after  humiliation  had  been 

-, ^  (37) 


38  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMEKS.  1810. 

induced  by  frequent  and  conscious  failure  of  his  efforts  to  con- 
form to  the  requisitions  of  the  law.  In  the  journal  kept  dur- 
ing a  part  of  that  time,  there  appears  the  proof  of  a  continu- 
ous endeavor  to  subdue  the  impetuous  and  haughty  spirit  of 
former  years,  wherein  self-reliance,  most  prominent  at  the  be- 
ginning, gives  place  afterward  to  earnest  and  increasing  sup- 
plication for  divine  aid,  and  aspirations  after  honors  yields  to 
the  desire  to  "  secure  a  quiet  and  virtuous  passage  through 
this  the  country  of  his  pilgrimage,"  and  that  his  chief  ambi- 
tion may  be  to  please  God  and  maintain  the  life  which  is  hid 
with  him  in  Christ. 

Mathematical  studies  still  occupied  a  part  of  his  time.  In 
March,  1810,  he  suspended  them,  in  order  to  prepare  a  review 
of  Dr.  Charters's  sermons.  On  the  sixth  of  May,  1810,  he 
preached  for  the  first  time  in  thirty-one  weeks.  A  few  days 
later  he  made  a  visit  to  his  father's  house,  and  found  his  sister 
lying  dangerously  ill.  His  brother  Alexander  had  also  been 
sick  for  some  time.  These  sources  of  sorrow  increased  the  so- 
lemnity of  his  feelings;  and  writing  from  St.  Andrews,  not  long 
afterward,  he  records  a  growing  indifference  to  university  pre- 
ferments. In  mentioning  his  own  quiet  country  residence  as 
a  better  theater  of  moral  discipline  than  Anstruther,  his  own 
journal  recognizes  that  period  as  the  infancy  of  his  religious 
course.  Under  the  date  of  August  21st,  he  mentions  his  inten- 
tion of  abandoning  severe  mathematics,  and  of  expending  his 
strength  upon  theological  studies.  He  confesses  the  painful- 
ness  of  the  sacrifice,  but  resolves  to  '*  leave  himself  entire  for 
all  those  discussions  which  are  connected  with  the  defense  of 
Christianity,  the  exposition  of  its  views,  and  the  maintenance 
of  its  interests,  as  affected  by  the  politics  or  philosophy  of  the 
times."  Still,  he  did  not  yet  entirely  lay  aside  mathematical 
reading,  but  confined  it  to  a  very  subordinate  place.  Prayers 
hke  these  frequently  occur  in  his  journal :  "Let  me  never  for- 
get the  pre-eminence  of  religion  ;"  "  Let  me  give  my  strength 
to  the  grand  business  of  being  useful  in  my  profession,"  and 
*'  0  God,  give  me  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  the  spirit  of  watch- 


^T.  80.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  39 

His  sister  Lucy  died  on  the  23d  of  December,  1810,  upon 
which  he  returned  to  Anster  to  comfort  his  father  who  was  now 
sinking  under  repeated  affliction  and  increasing  bhndness.  At 
the  same  time  he  took  up  Wilberforce's  '*  Practical  Yiew  of 
rehgion,"  a  book  destined  to  mark  an  era  in  his  spiritual  his- 
tory. So  far,  under  deeply  solemnized  feelings,  and  the  pur- 
pose of  a  holier  life,  he  had  been  struggling  to  his  purpose  by 
means  of  virtuous  principle.  The  result  was,  a  restless  dissat- 
isfaction with  all  his  efforts.  He  had  failed  in  attaining  that 
heavenly  excellence  and  calmness  of  spirit  at  which  he  aimed. 
Wilberforce  showed  him  that,  correct  as  was  the  end  he  had  in 
view,  the  path  he  was  pursuing  would  never  lead  him  there. 
That  he  must  abandon  the  hope  of  recommending  himself  by 
his  own  good  deeds,  and  submit  to  trust  the  whole  work  of  his 
salvation  and  acceptance  with  God  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Fully  prepared  to  confirm  the  position  of  the  author,  that  re- 
pose was  not  to  be  found  in  attempts  to  secure  a  legal  right- 
eousness, he  felt  as  he  never  had  felt  before  the  force  of  that 
fundamental  injunction,  *'  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved."  *'  For  upward  of  a  year  he  had  striven  / 
with  all  his  might  to  meet  the  high  requirements  of  the  divine 
law;  but  that  law  rose  in  its  demands  as  he  rose  in  his  endeav- 
ors." In  his  own  words;  ''  It  still  kept  ahead  of  him,  with  a 
kind  of  overmatching  superiority  to  all  his  efforts.  His  attempts 
to  scale  the  heights  of  perfection,  to  quell  the  remonstrances  of 
a  challenging  and  not  yet  appeased  commandment,  were  like  the 
laborious  ascent  of  him,  who,  having  so  wasted  his  strength 
that  he  can  do  no  more,  finds  that  some  precipice  still  remains 
to  be  overcome,  some  mountain  brow  that  scorns  his  enterprise 
and  threatens  to  overwhelm  him.  "  He  repaired  to  the  atone- 
ment to  eke  out  his  deficiencies,  and  as  the  ground  of  assur- 
ance that  God  would  look  upon  him  with  a  propitious  eye;  but 
notwithstanding  an  unappeasable  disquietude  hung  heavy  upon 
his  heart,  and  "  he  walked  among  the  elements  of  uncertainty 
and  distrust,"  till  at  last  he  came  to  see  that  the  Saviour 
had  already  and  completely  done  for  him  what,  with  so  much 
strenuousness,  but  with  so  Uttle  success,  he  had  been  strivinor  .  ^ 


40  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  3811. 

to  do  for  himself.  He  felt  the  insecurities  of  his  position  he 
had  been  in  vain  endeavoring  to  strengthen,  by  mixing  up  the 
merits  of  Christ  with  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance  and  the  pains- 
taking of  his  obedience,  to  form  together  the  ingredients  of  his 
hope  and  security  before  God.  But  the  conviction  was  now 
wrought  in  him  that  he  had  been  attempting  an  impossibility 
that  he  had  been  trying  to  compound  elements  that  would  not 
amalgamate  ;  that  it  must  be  either  on  his  own  merits  wholly, 
or  on  Christ's  merits  wholly  that  he  must  lean  ;  and  that  by 
introducing,  to  any  extent,  his  own  righteousness  into  the 
ground  of  his  meritorious  acceptance  with  God,  **  he  had  been 
inserting  a  flaw,  he  had  been  importing  a  falsehood  into  the 
very  principle  of  his  justification." 

/  It  was  through  the  spring  of  1811,  that  this  revolution  in 
his  spiritual  character  was  silently  progressing,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  obtained  valuable  assistance  from  Scott's  "  Force 
of  Truth,"  and  Hannah  More's  Essay  on  Practical  Piety, 
which  were  followed  in  the  summer  by  Baxter's  "  Body  of 
Divinity,"  and  the  whole  year  was  a  laborious  and  solid  pro- 
gress in  the  most  valuable  religious  knowledge.  The  simpli- 
city of  a  complete  salvation,  offered  entire  as  a  free  gift,  did  not 
break  upon  his  mind  suddenly,  but  rose  before  him  slowly,  as 
the  summer  morning  in  his  native  clime,  after  a  long  dawn  of 
progressive  light. 

His  growth  in  grace  was  sensibly  impeded  by  remaining 
habits  of  conformit}^  with  fashionable  indifference  to  the  pecu- 
liar doctrines  of  Christianity.  This  appeared  in  other  things 
as  well  as  in  the  fact  that  although  now  feeling  the  love  of  God 
in  Christ  to  be  dearer  to  him  than  all  the  honors  and  approba- 
tion of  earth,  he  experienced  a  struggle  with  his  convictions, 
when  any  of  his  worldly  friends  spent  the  night  with  him,  in 
view  of  conducting  family  worship  in  their  presence. 

The  article  upon  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  commenced 
before  his  sickness,  was  not  laid  aside  ;  but  in  the  midst  of 
mental  anxiety  and  bodily  debility,  was  slowly  progressing 
toward  completion.  For  many  months  the  work  of  composi- 
tion had  to  be  suspended  ;  but  still  some  part  of  the  day  was 


LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  41 

generally  allotted  to  reading  or  to  hearing  others  read  on  the 
subject.  The  work  enlisted  his  most  ardent  enthusiasm,  and  as 
the  cogency  and  number  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity  accu- 
mulated before  him,  his  admiration  and  delight  in  the  subject 
were  beyond  bounds.  *'  I  have  seen  him,"  says  a  friend,  writing 
of  the  summer  months  of  1810,  while  he  was  still  so  feeble  as  to 
be  debarred  from  composition,  "  almost  in  an  ecstasy  when  he 
was  speaking  of  the  grandeur  and  excellency  of  Christianity,  and 
of  the  clearness  and  force  of  the  evidence  by  which  it  is  supported. 
His  mind  was  almost  overwhelmed  by  it.  One  day  he  called 
on  me  and  said  :  *  Tell  me  all  that  ever  you  heard  against 
Christianity  from  its  enemies  ;  I  am  more  than  able  to  refute 
them  all.  The  evidences  of  our  religion  are  overwhelming.' 
It  is  utterly  impossible  for  me  to  convey,  in  language,  an  idea 
of  the  manner  in  which  he  uttered  these  and  similar  expres- 
sions. His  whole  soul  was  completely  absorbed,  and  he  gave 
vent  to  his  feelings  in  language  peculiarly  his  own." 

Dr.  Andrew  Thomson  had  recently  been  called  to  the  ISTew 
Gray-friars'  church,  Edinburgh,  and  coming  into  the  midst  of 
fashionable  indifference  and  aristocratic  self-satisfaction,  sus- 
tained by  high  literary  talents  and  attainments,  found  himself 
called  upon  to  employ  the  utmost  available  power  of  the  press, 
as  well  as  of  the  pulpit,  and  accordingly  commenced  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Christian  Instructor,  a  periodical  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  practical  Christianity,  the  first  number  of  which 
appeared  in  August,  1810.  In  January  of  the  following  year, 
he  wrote  to  Mr.  Chalmers  requesting  him  to  become  a  contri- 
butor, and  suggesting,  as  a  subject  of  criticism,  a  work,  recently- 
issued  in  London,  on  Toleration.  Mr.  Chalmers  fell  in  -vtith 
the  proposal,  and  having  still  lying  by  him  his  review  of  Dr. 
Charters's  sermons,  composed  in  the  previous  spring  and  in- 
tended for  the  Edinburgh  Review,  though  never  sent  to  it,  he 
now  forwarded  it  as  a  beginning  of  his  work  in  the  review 
department  of  the  new  periodical.  Some  doctrinal  points  were 
objected  to  by  the  editor,  and  a  correspondence  took  place  in 
regard  to  it,  frank,  manly,  and  amiable,  in  the  course  of  which 
Mr.  Chalmers  wrote  in  his  journal  his  determination  of  acqui- 
4 


42  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS. 

escence  in  the  decision  of  Dr.  Thomson,  for  the  time,  inasmuch 
as  he  felt  himself  to  be  on  the  eve  of  some  great  revolution  in 
his  own  religious  views.  In  the  spring  of  1811  his  review  of 
the  "  Hints  on  Toleration"  appeared  in  the  Christian  Instructor, 
and  in  July  of  the  same  year  his  review  of  Dr.  Charters's  ser- 
mons, accompanied  by  an  explanatory  note  from  the  pen  of  the 
editor,  the  justice  of  which  was  recognized  by  Mr.  Chalmers, 
at  the  time,  and  many  years  afterward  was  by  himself  trans- 
ferred together  with  the  review  into  the  series  of  his  works. 

His  mathematical  studies  were  now  finally  abandoned,  from 
a  conviction  that  they  seriously  interfered  with  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  his  pastoral  duties.  Contrary  to  the  position  which 
he  had  so  warmly  defended  seven  years  before  in  his  pamphlet, 
in  reply  to  Prof.  Playfair,  he  now  declared,  in  a  letter  to  his 
brother  James,  dated  June  15th,  1811,  "That  a  minister,  if 
he  gives  his  whole  heart  to  his  business,  finds  employment  for 
every  moment  of  his  existence  ;  and  I  am,  every  day,  getting 
more  in  love  with  my  professional  duties  and  more  penetrated 
with  a  sense  of  their  importance  ;"  and  in  a  letter  to  his 
mother,  of  September  5th,  he  writes  :  "  You  may  tell  my 
father  that  I  have  at  length  come  into  his  opinion,  that  the 
peculiar  business  of  his  profession  demands  all  the  time,  all 
the  talents,  and  all  the  energy  that  any  minister  is  possessed 
of."  His  reading  was  now  almost  entirely  confined  to  works 
connected  more  or  less  with  practical  religion.  To  dry  theo- 
retical works  he  now  attached  much  less  importance  than  to 
those  presenting  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation  and  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  by  faith  in  a  simple  scriptural  manner.  His 
doctrinal  views,  in  the  course  of  that  year,  were  advancing 
toward  what  is  called  Calvinism ;  but  he  rejected  the  hard 
one-sidedness  of  any  of  the  doctrinal  systems  of  the  Church, 
declaring  his  preference  for  the  broad,  **  free,  and  spontaneous 
manner"  of  the  New  Testament.  The  point  of  his  attainment 
toward  the  end  of  the  year,  appears  in  one  of  his  letters  to 
Mr.  Anderson,  dated  Dec.  18th,  in  which,  having  quoted  the 
text  **  He  that  beheveth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall 
he  live,"  he  goes  on  :  "  This  is  my  firm  hold,  and  I  will  not 


LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  43 

let  it  go.  I  sicken  at  all  my  own  imperfect  preparations.  I 
take  one  decisive  and  immediate  step  and  resign  my  all  to  the 
sufficiency  of  my  Saviour.  I  feel  my  disease,  and  I  feel  that 
my  want  of  alarm  and  lively  affecting  conviction  forms  its  most 
obstinate  ingredient.  I  try  to  stir  up  the  emotion,  and  feel 
myself  harassed  and  distressed  at  the  impotency  of  my  own 
meditations.  But  why  linger  without  the  threshold  in  the  face 
of  a  warm  and  urgent  invitation  ?  *  Come  unto  me.'  Do  not 
think  that  it  is  your  office  to  heal  one  part  of  the  disease  and 
Christ's  to  heal  up  the  remainder."  *'  I  come  to  him  with  my 
heart  such  as  it  is  ;  and  I  pray  that  the  operation  of  His  Spirit 
and  the  power  of  His  sanctifying  faith  would  make  it  such  as  it 
should  be.  That  abhorrence  of  sin  which  I  now  feel  to  be  in 
a  manner  dead,  I  hope,  through  Him  strengthening  me,  will 
be  made  to  quicken  and  revive.  Repentance  is  the  gift  of  God, 
and  I  look  to  him  for  the  fulfillment  of  His  gracious  promise, 
that  he  who  '  hath  given  us  His  own  son,  will  also  with  Him 
freely  give  us  all  things.  I  see  that  this  son  is  exalted  on 
high,  to  give  repentance  and  the  remission  of  sins,'  and  I 
trust  that  that  being  who  has  said,  *  Without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing,'  will  enable  me  to  'do  all  things  in  the  name  of 
Jesus.'  " 

In  the  neighboring  parish  of  Balmenius,  a  new  church  was 
erecting,  and  in  the  meanwhile,  that  congregation  attended 
services  in  the  church  of  Kilmany.  Their  minister,  Mr. 
Thomson,  thus  preached  to  the  united  congregations,  during 
all  the  time  of  Mr.  Chalmers's  sickness,  and  for  more  than  a 
year  afterward,  while  he  was  slowly  regaining  his  strength, 
divided  the  labor  with  him,  their  arrangement  for  the  Sabbath 
being,  that  Mr.  Chalmers  should  preach  in  the  morning,  and 
Mr.  Thomson  in  the  afternoon.  This  connection  came  to  an 
end  in  the  beginning  of  November,  when  Mr.  Chalmers  entered 
again  upon  the  whole  of  his  parochial  duties,  after  an  interval 
of  about  two  years,  for  four  months  of  which  he  could  not 
leave  his  room,  for  more  than  half  a  year  he  could  not  appear 
in  his  pulpit  at  all,  and  the  most  of  the  remainder  was  spent 
in  the  debihty  of  very  slow  convalescence.   But  he  emerged  from 


44  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS. 

that  illness  with  the  principles  of  a  new  life  kindled  within 
him,  with  new  views  of  the  world  and  of  his  duty  to  it,  and 
with  a  consecration  of  all  his  energies  to  the  service  of  that 
Master,  whom  he  had  only  coldly  served  before.  The  haughty, 
domineering  and  self-sufficient  spirit  of  earlier  years  had  all 
disappeared  and  given  place  to  the  humility  and  amiableness 
of  the  child  of  God.  The  old  impetuosity  of  temper  still  was 
there,  the  restless  activity  and  enthusiasm,  but  they  were  now 
subjected  to  the  control  of  a  new  principle,  and  directed  to- 
ward the  attainment  of  a  higher  end.  The  sole  object  to  which 
his  remaining  life  was  now  to  be  devoted,  was  the  work  of  win- 
ning souls  to  God.  And  yet  this  change  was  not  wrought  in 
him  through  the  operation  of  the  fear  of  death,  upon  a  gloomy 
and  severe  temperament.  All  the  time,  even  when  lying,  with 
the  probability  of  early  dissolution  before  his  eyes,  his  natural 
cheerfulness  was  never  extinguished,  and  during  the  long  pe- 
riod of  his  recovery,  while  the  most  solemn  change  was  passing 
upon  his  soul,  his  conduct  was  entirely  free  from  anything  like 
austerity  or  sanctimonious  assumption.  The  pleasures  of  his 
society  were  attested  by  the  number  and  character  of  those 
who  courted  it,  consisting  not  only  of  neighboring  clergymen, 
but  of  persons  of  various  occupations  and  of  no  occupation, 
from  St.  Andrew's,  from  Dundee  and  other  cities  around,  and 
including  such  men  us  Prof.  Duncan,  Mr.  James  Anderson, 
Mr.  Mudie,  Prof.  Leslie,  and  others  of  most  diverse  tastes  and 
pursuits.  His  hospitality  was  profuse,  and  scarcely  limited  by 
his  means.  Though  living  in  a  country  parish  his  house  was 
almost  daily  the  residence  of  guests.  In  his  journal,  the  fact 
that  he  spent  an  evening  alone,  is  now  and  then  recorded  as 
an  unusual  occurrence.  Sometimes  that  generosity  of  his 
character  was  abused,  as  in  the  case  of  a  Frenchman,  named 
Bataille,  who,  through  means  of  the  workmen  engaged  about 
the  manse,  obtained  an  introduction  to  him,  and  who,  though 
evidently  a  hollow  and  essentially  gross  creature,  succeeded, 
for  some  two  months,  in  imposing  upon  his  kindhearted  indul- 
gence. Finding  the  minister  an  agreeable  person,  and  his 
table  well  supplied,   Mr.  Bataille  took  the  liberty  of  bringing 


LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  45 

another  of  his  countrymen  to  enjoy  his  good  fortune  with  him. 
Mr.  Chalmers  did  not  fail  to  perceive  that  his  French  guests 
drank  too  freely,  and  recorded  his  disapprobation  of  that  gross- 
ness,  yet  such  was  his  natural  disposition  to  look  upon  all 
things  in  the  most  charitable  light,  that  in  view  of  Bataille's 
poverty,  he  had  contemplated  giving  him  money  to  purchase 
clothes.  The  two  Frenchmen  were,  in  fact,  proceeding  to  make 
the  agreeable  parson's  house  a  place  of  jovial  resort,  when 
one  evening,  Bataille  put  an  end  to  the  whole  play  by  getting 
grievously  drunk.  As  soon  as  they  could  comprehend  reason, 
they  were  fully  enlightened  as  to  their  host's  opinion  of  their 
conduct,  and,  if  they  could  not  understand  the  nature  of  his 
principles,  were  left  without  any  doubts  on  the  subject  of  what 
measures  it  behooved  them  instantly  to  take. 

During  all  this  time,  Mr.  Chalmers's  studies,  beside  what 
were  immediately  addressed  to  preparation  for  the  pulpit,  were 
concerned  with  his  article  on  Christianity.  For  more  than  five 
months,  indeed,  he  had  not  been  able  to  pen  a  hne  ;  but  he  had 
all  along  been  making  progress  in  reading  for  it.  Some  of  his 
published  sermons  were  also  written  at  this  time,  as  that  on 
Psalm,  xi,  1,  that  on  Rom.  iii,  10,  and  the  lecture  on  Psalm 
cxxxvii,  1-6.  His  weekly  allowance  of  careful  composition  was 
then  about  one  sheet  closely  written. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1811,  a  correspondence  arose 
between  him  and  Mr.  James  Anderson,  a  young  man  of  un- 
common intellectual  promise,  which,  for  the  light  it  throws  upon 
the  spiritual  state  of  Mr.  Chalmers  as  well  as  of  his  correspon- 
dent, is  highly  interesting.  Mr.  Anderson,  the  son  of  a  wealthy 
merchant  in  Dundee,  had  sought  his  acquaintance  on  account 
of  his  mathematical  reputation,  and  becoming  attached  to  him 
personally,  was  gradually  led  by  his  kindly  conversation  to  the 
examination  of  that  greatest  of  all  subjects,  then  engrossing 
the  best  of  Mr.  Chalmers's  thoughts.  Upon  Mr.  Anderson's 
return  to  Dundee,  the  letters  which  passed  between  them  were 
chiefly  on  the  subject  of  practical  religion.  In  endeavoring  to 
lead  his  young  friend  to  the  happiness  of  faith  in  Christ,  Mr. 
Chalmers  is  led  to  statements  of  his  own  experience,  fuller  and 


46  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS. 

more  satisfactory  than  perhaps  it  would  otherwise  have  occurred 
to  him  to  make. 

The  hberahty  of  his  views  was  manifested  by  his  sympathy 
with  all  those  movements  then  new  in  the  church,  which  were 
calculated  to  extend  the  interests  of  true  religion  and  human 
happiness,  whatever  denomination  of  Christians  might  have  the 
honor  of  originating  them.  The  Bible  Society  received  his 
most  hearty  co-operation,  and  the  Baptist  Missions  not  only 
enlisted  his  interest,  but  in  his  own  words,  ''deeply  impressed 
him  with  the  worth  and  utility  of  those  Christians."  This 
would  not  be  worth  remarking,  but  for  its  variance  from  the 
spirit  of  intolerance  which  then  prevailed  in  the  Establishment 
toward  all  dissenting  bodies.  The  most  marked  external 
change  in  his  character,  was  activity  in  instructing  and  cate- 
chizing his  congregation,  in  visiting  and  administering  to  the 
wants  of  the  sick  and  the  destitute,  in  talking  with  all  on  the 
subject  of  their  salvation,  and  in  the  fervor  and  unction  of  piety 
which  characterized  his  pulpit  ministrations  ;  in  short,  a  pre- 
dominant and  burning  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  in  the  salvation 
of  men. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

In  the  course  of  the  great  change  which  had  passed  upon  his 
own  spirit,  Mr.  Chalmers  had  perceived  the  importance  of  de- 
riving his  rehgious  views  directly  from  the  Bible,  his  regular  .' 
and  earnest  study  of  which,  was  one  of  the  most  notable  ef-^ 
fects  of  his  conversion.  A  near  neighbor  and  frequent  visitor, 
John  Bouthron,  who,  on  account  of  his  age,  was  admitted  to 
an  easy  and  privileged  familiarity,  had  once,  in  former  years, 
remarked  to  him,  "  I  find  you  aye  busy,  sir,  with  one  thing  or 
another  ;  but  come  when  I  may,  I  never  find  you  at  your 
studies  for  the  Sabbath,"  and  had  received  the  reply,  "  Oh,  an 
hour  or  two  on  the  Saturday  evening  is  quite  enough  for  that," 
latterly  observed,  with  similar  freedom,  "I  never  come  in  now, 
sir,  but  I  find  you  aye  at  your  Bible."  "All  too  little,  John, 
all  too  little,"  was  the  answer,  whose  sincerity  was  demonstrated 
by  the  consistent  labor  of  all  his  remaining  years. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  1812,  he  made  the  following  en- 
try in  his  journal  :  "I  finished,  this  day,  my  perusal  of  the 
New  Testament  by  daily  chapters,  in  which  my  object  was  to 
commit  striking  passages  to  memory.  I  mean  to  begin  its 
perusal  anew,  in  which  this  object  shall  be  revised,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  fixing  upon  one  sentiment  of  the  chapter  for  habitual 
and  recurring  contemplation,  through  the  day,  shall  be  added 
to  the  former."  He  also  recommenced  the  study  of  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  languages. 

At  the  same  time,  the  claims  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bi- 
ble Society,  which  had  been  instituted  only  a  fcAv  years  before, 
were  enlisting  the  enthusiastic  co-operation  of  the  ablest  minds 
in  the  various  denominations  of  protestant  churches  in  the 
United  Kingdom.  The  feelings  of  Mr.  Chalmers  induced  him 
to  enter  very  heartily  into  its  vast  measures  of  benevolence. 
He  spoke  in  its  favor,  wherever  he  had  opportunity  ;  he  wrote 
in  its  behalf,  he  got  up  a  branch  society  in  his  own  parish,  and 

(47^ 


48  LIFE  OF  DR.  CHALMERS. 

actively  co-operated  with  his  presbytery  in  the  effort  to  estab- 
lish parochial  branches  throughout  the  country.  It  was  the 
first  great  christian  enterprise  which  won  his  sympathies  and 
engaged  his  public  advocacy.  It  ''  rose,  in  his  estimation,  as 
the  most  magnificent  scheme  that  ever  was  instituted  for  bet- 
tering the  moral  condition  of  the  species."  The  system  of 
penny-a-week  subscriptions  to  the  cause,  recommended  itself 
to  him  as  one  calculated  to  bring  in  every  class  of  community 
as  contributors.  And  "  when  the  Kilmany  Bible  Association 
was  formed,  the  subscriptions  were  strictly  limited  to  a  penny 
a  week  ;  those  who  desired  to  give  more,  doing  it  either  in  the 
way  of  donations,  or  by  entering  the  names  of  different  mem- 
bers of  their  family  as  contributors."  This  method  he  advo- 
cated on  the  principle  that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive,  and  that  the  poor  Christian  should  not  be  discouraged 
from  giving  by  the  larger  subscriptions  of  his  richer  neighbors, 
and  thereby  deprived  of  his  share  of  that  higher  blessedness  ; 
and  also  on  the  ground  that  it  was  the  way  in  which  most  funds 
could  actually  be  raised,  as  well  as  that  it  furnishd  a  truly 
universal  expression  of  christian  sympathy  for  the  heathen. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1812,  his  sister  Jane,  who  had  been 
his  housekeeper,  was  married,  and  immediately  removed  to  the 
residence  of  her  husband,  Mr.  Morton,  who  although  a  native 
of  the  neighboring  parish,  was  then  settled  in  England,  near 
Dulverton,  in  Somersetshire.  This  change  seriously  affected  the 
constitution  of  Mr. Chalmers's  household.  Although  entertaining 
no  humble  opinion  of  his  own  talents  as  a  housekeeper,  it  seems 
to  have  been  ill  sustained  by  facts.  A  story  is  told  of  his  be- 
ing left,  a  few  months  previously,  during  a  visit  which  his  sister 
made  to  Anstruther,  to  a  similar  test :  and  how  Mr.  Duncan 
and  Mr.  Mudie  came  in  upon  him  from  Dundee,  and  he,  retir- 
ing soon  after  their  arrival,  to  consult  regarding  the  means 
of  dining,  found,  to  his  dismay,  that  there  was  nothing 
whatever  in  the  house  but  two  parcels  of  fish,  and  how  after 
leading  his  friends  a  good  long  healthy  walk,  in  view  of  a  spir- 
ited hunting  scene,  he  set  them  down  to  a  table  on  which  two 
promising  dishes  flourished,  and  as  the  covers  were  removed, 


Ml.  81.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  49 

invited  them  to  make  choice  from  the  abundant  variety  of 
"  hard  fish  from  St.  Andrews  and  hard  fish  from  Dundee." 
The  experiment,  which  had  been  productive  of  such  results, 
was  now  to  be  repeated,  and,  to  all  appearance,  for  more  than 
a  few  weeks.  Moreover,  the  absence  of  one  to  whom  he  was 
so  warmly  attached,  made  his  home  seem  desolate.  He  accom- 
panied the  married  party  as  far  as  Carlisle,  and  spent  about  a 
week,  in  the  middle  of  February,  with  Dr.  Charters.  He  now 
found  that  the  Doctor  and  he  no  longer  held  their  former  simi- 
larity of  religious  views.  Mr.  Chalmers  preached  before  him 
a  sermon,  in  which  he  advanced  the  incompetency  of  reason  to 
decide  upon  the  subject  of  revelation  from  previous  and  inde- 
pendent material  of  its  own.  Dr.  Charters,  by  expressing  his 
disapprobation  of  the  doctrine,  both  then,  and  afterward  by 
letter,  testified  how  far  he  had  been  left  behind  by  his  younger 
brother. 

Some  time  previously  he  had  been  expecting  from  the  court 
of  session  a  considerable  addition  to  his  stipends.  Immediately 
after  his  sister's  marriage,  he  learned  that  a  decision  had  been 
given  of  sixty  pounds  in  his  favor.  This  was  only  half  of  what 
he  had  been  given  to  expect  as  his  right,  and,  at  the  advice  of 
his  agent,  he  presented  a  reclaiming  petition,  which,  however, 
was  ineffectual.  This  result  he  learned  upon  his  return  from 
England  in  the  latter  part  of  February.  He  re-entered  his  sol- 
itary home  with  a  resolution  to  be  contented  with  his  very 
moderate  income,  and  devote  himself,  without  any  further  con- 
cern for  these  things,  entirely  to  the  work  of  his  calling.  In 
closing  up,  on  the  16th  of  March,  the  second  year  of  his  jour- 
nal, he  writes  as  follows  : 

'*  Have  carried  my  journal  to  the  termination  of  a  second 
year,  and,  from  its  varying  complexion,  it  appears  that  there 
lies  a  vast  and  indefinite  field  before  me — much  to  aspire  after 
in  love  to  God,  in  the  steadiness  of  my  faith,  in  the  clearness 
of  my  views,  in  the  christian  purity  of  my  conduct:  0  God, 
may  I  build  a  right  superstructure,  on  a  right  foundation.  May 
I  make  mention  of  that  name,  than  which  there  is  none  other 
given  under  heaven  whereby  men  can  be  saved.  Work  in 
5 


60  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1812 

me  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  Thy  sight  and  make  me 
altogether  a  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.  Recall 
me  from  my  habitual  estrangement ;  correct  the  miserable 
wanderings  of  my  heart ;  form  Christ  in  me,  and  may  he  be 
to  me  the  anchor  of  hope,  and  the  steady  unfailing  principle 
of  sanctifi cation.  0  Lord,  give  me  to  be  cleansed  more  and 
more.  Seal  me  as  one  of  thine  own,  and  naming  the  name 
of  Jesus,  may  I  depart  from  iniquity.  My  health,  last  year, 
was  variable.  But  I  fall  miserably  short  of  what  I  might  do 
and  ought  to  do.     The  following  is  a  list  of  my  performances  : 

Ptead  Lardiner's  Jewish  and  Heathen  Testimonies  ;  Pri- 
deaux's  Connection  ;  Macknight's  Credibility  of  the  Gospel ; 
Baxter's  Call  to  the  Unconverted  ;  Scott's  Marmion  ;  Hannah 
More's  Practical  Piety  ;  Life  of  Mathew  Henry  :  Buchanan's 
Researches ;  Buchanan's  Sermons  ;  Doddridge's  Life,  by  Or- 
ton  ;  and  Paley's  Horee  Paulinse. 

In  addition  to  my  ordinary  supplies  for  the  pulpit,  wrote  last 
part  of  my  review  of  Hints  upon  Toleration,  the  last  part  of 
my  performance  on  Christianity,  a  speech  for  Dr.  Playfair,  part 
of  which  I  delivered  at  the  Synod,  a  sermon  on  HebreAvs  vi, 
19  ;  another  on  Luke  x,  26  ;  another  on  Romans  xv,  1;  and 
about  two  sheets  of  devotional  composition.  In  all  about 
seventeen  sheets,  a  very  small  proportion  indeed. 

Read  more  than  the  New  Testament  in  English,  and  the 
Greek  to  the  end  of  the  Acts,  as  also  a  Greek  Grammar.  At 
family  worship  read  Isaiah,  Psalms,  Job,  and  Proverbs. 

Let  me  set  more  value  on  my  time,  and  let  my  future  Jour- 
nal be  more  directed  to  the  particular  record  of  my  way  of 
spending  it.  0  God,  give  me  a  more  decided  bent  of  heart  to 
the  service  of  Thee  in  Christ  Jesus." 

In  the  record  of  the  next  day  we  find  the  following  account 
of  the  renewal  of  his  self  dedication  to  God  : 

*'  Begin  with  taking  a  view  of  my  state  previous  to  entering 
into  the  covenant.  Find  it  an  unsheltered  and  condemned  state. 
Was  convinced,  but  was  not  lively  in  my  apprehension  of  it, 
and  was  far  short  of  transport  or  vivacity  in  any  part  of  this 
service.     Prayed  that  faith  might  be  wrought  in  me.     Thought 


JET.    81.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  51 

of  faith  in  Christ,  and  had  some  joyful  moments,  when  I 
thought  of  the  promise  annexed  to  it.  Found  that  it  was  not 
by  looking  to  myself  but  to  Jesus  that  I  obtained  light  and 
direction.  I  then  thought  of  being  sanctified  by  faith.  This 
turned  me  to  myself.  I  read  with  delight  the  promise  of  the 
spirit  to  those  who  believe ;  but  when  turning  to  myself  and  to 
my  sanctification,  I  felt  a  dullness  and  insipidity,  and  when  I 
prayed  I  did  it  with  languor.  0  that  I  could  fix  a  full  and 
unqualified  look  upon  Christ — there  lies  efficacy,  and  comfort, 
and  sanctification.  After  this  I  made  my  dedication.  I 
counted  the  cost  of  it  and  perhaps  underrated  the  difficulties 
of  the  Christian  warfare.  I  concluded  with  a  solemn  dedica- 
tion of  myself  to  God  as  my  sovereign,  to  Christ  as  my  Sa- 
viour, and  to  the  Holy  Ghost  as  my  sanctifier,  and  prayed  for 
strength,  and  direction,  and  support  from  on  high,  that  I  may 
be  enabled  to  keep  my  vows  to  the  Lord.  Rose  in  comfort 
and  peace.  Let  me  bear  up,  hold  fast  Christ,  even  though  He 
should  be  clouded  from  me  ;  confess  Him  with  the  mouth  to 
be  the  only  Saviour,  feel  Him  to  be  my  anchor,  and  never, 
never  let  Him  go." 

About  this  time  it  was  his  practice  to  spend  the  first  Mon- 
day in  every  month,  chiefly  in  devotional  exercises.  The  fol- 
lowing is  a  record  of  one  of  these  occasions,  April  6th,  1812: 

*'  Begun  at  twelve.  Was  fatigued  and  feverish,  but  my 
emotions  pleasurable,  and  I  did  obtain  a  nearness  to  God. 
Prayed  for  my  sanctification  in  general  terms.  Read  the  Bible 
and  Clarke's  '  Promises,'  and  descended  in  my  next  prayer  to 
the  particular  duties.  Mr.  C.  interrupted  me,  and  I  felt  that 
my  mind  was  wholly  in  business  while  he  was  present.  When 
he  left  me,  I  felt  the  infirmity,  and  recurred  as  my  next  topic 
of  pious  and  aspiring  meditation,  to  my  peculiar  business  as  a 
minister.  Have  not  that  lively  repentance  for  my  past  mis- 
conduct and  negligence  that  I  would  like  ;  but  let  me  press  on 
to  the  tilings  that  are  before.  Prayed  to  God  that  he  would 
make  me  an  able  minister  of  the  New  Testament.  My  physi- 
cal sensations  partook  of  the  pleasurable  delirium  of  an  inci- 
pient fever,  but   I  trust  that  my  confidence  is  building  upon 


52  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1881. 

God  in  Christ,  and  that  my  dependence  is  upon  the  spirit,  as 
the  revealed  instrument  by  which  I  am  made  to  apply  the 
remedy,  and  to  go  on  in  the  sanctification  of  the  gospel.  Let 
me  not  be  highminded,  but  fear.  Let  him  that  thinketh  he 
standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall.  At  two  o'clock  I  went  out  and 
visited  people  in  the  village.  Returned,  and  offered  my  inter- 
cessions for  parish,  friends,  enemies,  relations,  and  the  church 
of  Christ ;  and  I  pray  that  God  would  not  suffer  me  to  be  de- 
luded by  the  formality  of  an  external  service ;  but,  oh,  settle 
in  my  heart  the  faith  of  Christ  working  by  love.  0  God,  give 
me  to  rejoice  in  thee,  and  lift  my  affections  from  earth  to  hea- 
ven. May  thy  law  be  my  delight,  and  may  I  never  shrink 
from  the  cross  of  discipline  and  duty.  Purify  my  heart,  and 
may  the  following  passages  be  my  direction  and  my  joy  : 
Phil,  iv,  6  ;  Luke  vi,  35." 

On  the  14th  of  April,  a  meeting  of  clergymen  to  the  num- 
ber of  forty  was  held  at  Kirkaldy  for  the  purpose  of  institut- 
ing a  Fifeshire  Bible  Society.  Here  Mr.  Chalmers's  views  on 
that  subject  were  first  published  beyond  the  bounds  of  his 
own  neighborhood,  and  met  with  general  approbation.  Mea- 
sures were  taken  to  promote  the  formation  of  associations  in 
all  the  parishes,  on  the  plan  of  penny-a-week  subscriptions ; 
and  the  readiness  with  which  they  were  responded  to  by  the 
people  was  most  encouraging  to  the  projectors. 

On  the  last  Sabbath  of  April,  he  preached  in  Dundee,  and 
in  the  early  part  of  May  visited  Aberdeen  and  vicinity,  return- 
ing about  the  middle  of  the  month.  The  attention  which  his 
preaching  was  now  attracting,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  con- 
stituted a  subject  of  deep  concern  to  himself  lest  it  might  be- 
get in  him  a  feeling  of  self  importance.  In  his  journals  we 
find  frequently  such  entries  as  these  :  "My  frequent  cogita- 
tions about  the  Dundee  exhibition  argue,  I  am  afraid,  a  devo- 
tion to  the  praise  of  men.  Force  me  wholly  into  Thyself,  O 
God."  "  Sunday,  May  3. — Is  it  right  to  fatigue  myself  thus, 
or  to  soar  so  selfishly  and  ostentatiously  above  the  capacities 
of  my  people  ?  0  God,  may  I  make  a  principle  of  this,  and 
preach  not  myself  but   Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."     The  same 


uET.  82.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  63 

point  is  also  brought  forward  in  the  following  record  of  another 
of  his  days  with  God. 

"  Invocation  for  God's  blessing  and  direction  upon  the  exer- 
cise. Feel  the  force  of  God's  entreaty  and  his  command  to 
believe  in  Christ,  and  am  el|vated  by  a  joyful  confidence. 
Read  the  promises  to  prayer,  and  prayed  for  acceptance  through 
Christ  and  general  sanctification.  Not  rapturously  near,  but 
feel  serene  and  confident.  Prayed  for  knowledge,  for  the  un- 
derstanding and  impression  and  remembrance  of  God's  word  ; 
for  growth  in  grace,  for  personal  holiness,  for  that  sanctification 
which  the  redeemed  undergo.  Thought  of  the  sins  that  most 
easily  beset  me  ;  confessed  them  and  prayed  for  correction  and 
dehverance.  They  are  anxiety  about  worldly  matters,  when 
any  suspicion  or  uncertainty  attaches  to  them ;  a  disposition  to 
brood  over  provocations  ;  impatience  at  the  irksome  peculiari- 
ties of  others  ;  an  industriousness,  from  a  mere  principle  of 
animal  activity,  without  the  glory  of  God  and  the  service  of 
mankind  lying  at  the  bottom  of  it ;  and,  above  all,  a  taste  and 
an  appetite  for  human  applause.  My  conscience  smote  me  on 
the  subject  of  pulpit  exhibitions.  I  pray  that  God  may  make 
usefulness  the  grand  principle  of  my  appearances  there.  Read 
the  promises  annexed  to  faithful  ministers;  and  prayed  for  zeal 
and  diligence,  and  abiUty  in  the  discharge  of  my  ministerial 
office.  Prayed  for  the  people;  individually  for  some,  and  gen- 
erally for  all  descriptions  of  them.  Prayed  for  friends  indivi- 
dually and  relations.  Read  the  promises  relative  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  gospel,  and  conversion  of  the  Jews.  Prayed 
for  those  objects.  Through  the  whole  of  this  exercise  felt 
calm,  and  I  hope,  confident.  I  have  not  felt  much  rapture,  nor 
have  I  that  near  sense  of  the  presence  and  glory  of  God  which 
I  aspire  after.  Let  my  maxim  be,  'Faint,  yet  pursuing,'  and 
let  me  look  up  in  Christ  for  all  those  spiritual  blessings  which 
can  only  be  enjoyed  in  perfection  on  the  other  side  of  time,  and 
of  the  grave.  Concluded  the  whole  with  a  prayer  for  God's 
blessing  upon  the  exercise." 

It  had  formerly  been  his  custom  to  do  much  of  his  prepara- 
tion for  the  pulpit  on  the  Sabbath  morning.     One  of  the  marks 


54  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1812. 

of  his  spiritual  growth,  was  the  recognition  of  the  propriety  of 
having  that  work  so  completed,  that  the  whole  Lord's  day 
could  be  given  to  devotion. 

His  plans  of  independent  housekeeping,  of  which  his  friends 
were  not  quite  so  sanguine  as  himself,  came  to  an  end  in  the 
course  of  this  summer,  in  an  event,  which,  for  many  other  and 
higher  reasons,  is  to  be  set  down  as  one  of  the  most  important 
contributions  to  his  usefulness.  On  the  4th  of  August,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Grace  Pratt,  the  second  daughter  of  Captain 
Pratt,  of  the  1st  Royal  Veteran  Battalion,  who  had  been  residing 
for  some  time  with  her  uncle  atStarbank,  in  the  parish  of  Kilmany. 
As  the  situations  he  was  afterward  called  upon  to  occupy,  were 
very  dififerent  from  that  of  a  country  minister,  "  he  always  re- 
cognized it  as  Heaven's  greatest  providential  gift,  that  he  was 
united  to  one  whose  presence  graced  the  society  in  which  he 
moved,  upon  whose  judgment,  in  the  details  of  life,  he  placed 
implicit  confidence,  and  whose  wisely  compliant  and  affection- 
ate disposition  made  his  home  one,  from  which  he  always  went 
out  revived  and  re-invigorated,  and  to  which  he  always  returned 
to  find  peaceful  and  pleasurable  repose  after  toil,  or  soothing 
sympathy  amid  trials." 

The  succeeding  months  of  the  year  were  spent  in  the  faithful 
discharge  of  his  professional  duties,  in  systematic  study,  and 
in  the  enjoyment  of  domestic  happiness;  a  visit  to  Dr.  Brewster 
at  Edinburgh,  to  his  friends  in  Anstruther,  and  to  his  sister's 
relations,  the  Mortons  at  Flisk,  and  to  Dundee,  where  he 
preached  the  annual  Missionary  sermon,  diversifying  the  regu- 
larity of  his  occupations. 

That  missionary  sermon,  the  first  delivered  upon  any  public 
occasion  after  his  conversion,  was  preached  on  the  26th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1812.  The  collection  then  taken  up,  was,  in  accordance 
with  his  own  previous  design,  appropriated  to  repairing  the  loss 
which  the  Serampore  missionaries  had  recently  met,  in  the  de- 
struction of  their  printing  office  by  fire.  At  the  request  of  the 
Society,  the  sermon  was  published  at  Dundee,  in  January,  1813. 
"Its  sale  was  so  rapid  that  a  month  or  two  afterward  it  was  re- 
published by  Mr.  Whyte  of  Edinburgh  ;  and  before  the  end 


^T.    33.  LIFE    OF    DE.    CHALMERS.  55 

of  tlie  following  year,  four  editions  of  it  had  been  circulated. 
This,  with  another  sermon,  and  a  review  of  Foster's  *  Essays,' 
which  appeared  in  the  May  number  of  the  '  Christian  Instruc- 
tor,' comprised  all  that  he  published  during  1813,  a  year  al- 
most exclusively  dedicated  to  his  private  and  parochial  duties." 

In  his  journal  of  this  year  the  topics  of  most  frequent  occur- 
rence, are  his  own  growth  in  grace,  his  duties  to  the  world  as 
a  minister  of  Christ,  and  frequent  prayers  to  be  delivered  from 
the  sins  of  an  impetuous  temperament,  and  the  love  of  humaiyj 
approbation.  His  own  summaries,  drawn  up  at  the  end  of  each 
year  of  his  journal,  constitute  valuable  contributions  to  his  bio- 
graphy :  that  for  the  year  closing  on  the  16th  of  March,  1813, 
is  as  follows  : 

'*  On  the  review  of  last  year,  I  look  back  upon  a  life  check- 
ered with  frailty  and  sin,  but  I  trust,  aspiring  after  righteous- 
ness, and  feeling  restless  and  uneasy  under  relapses.  If  in 
anything  I  have  made  sensible  improvement,  it  is  in  feeling  the 
more  immediate  connection  which  subsists  between  the  practi- 
cal virtues  and  the  faith  of  Christ,  leading  me  to  cultivate 
union  with  Him,  and  dependence  upon  that  spirit  which  is  at 
his  giving.  0  my  God,  give  me  to  redeem  the  time  given  me 
to  make  an  entire  business  of  my  sanctification  ;  and  in  all  the 
duties  of  the  redeemed  Christian  may  I  abound  more  and 
more.  But,  above  all,  establish  me  thoroughly  on  Christ,  that 
I  may  believe  on  Him  to  the  saving  of  my  soul,  that  I  may 
be  grafted  in  Him  as  my  vine,  that  I  may  rest  on  Him  as  my 
foundation,  that  I  may  partake  in  Him  as  my  righteousness. 
Believing,  may  I  love;  loving,  may  I  obey. 

**  In  addition  to  my  ordinary  supplies  for  the  pulpit,  wrote  a 
speech  for  the  Bible  Society,  since  published  ;  a  sermon  on 
Gal.  iii,  23  ;  do.  on  John  iv,  10;  do. on  Rom.,  x,  17,  since  pub- 
lished ;  do.  on  2  Tim.,  i.,  10  ;  do.  on  2  Thess.  iii.,  1  ;  a  re- 
view of  Foster's  '  Essays  ;'  and  a  speech  on  the  Catholic  ques- 
tion ;  in  all,  about  eighteen  sheets." 

In  August  of  this  year,  the  Rev.  Andrew  Fuller  made  a  visit 
to  the  north,  during  which  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
Chalmers,  and  spent  a  short  time  in  his  house.     The  great 


66  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1813. 

powers  and  deepening  piety  of  his  entertainer,  were  quickly 
discerned  by  that  large  minded  man;  and  upon  leaving  Kilmany, 
he  expressed  himself  strongly  of  his  expectations  in  regard  to 
both.  His  friendly  opinions  seem  to  have  been  frankly  offered 
and  most  kindly  received  ;  and  there  were  few  whose  opinions 
were  so  highly  esteemed  by  Mr.  Chalmers.  In  one  respect, 
however,  the  attempt  to  follow  his  advice,  was  made  without 
success.  *'  Under  the  very  strong  conviction  that  his  use  of 
manuscript  in  the  pulpit  impaired  the  power  of  his  Sabbath 
addresses,  Mr.  Fuller  strenuously  urged  upon  his  friend  the 
practice  of  extempore  preaching,  or  preaching  from  notes.  *  If 
that  man,'  said  he  to  his  companion,  Mr.  Anderson,  after  they 
had  taken  leave  of  Kilmany  manse,  '  if  that  man  would  but 
throw  away  his  papers  in  the  pulpit,  he  might  be  king  of  Scot- 
land.' Mr.  Chalmers  was  perfectly  willing  to  make  the  ex- 
periment, and  he  gave  full  time  and  all  diligence  to  the  attempt; 
but  it  failed.  He  read,  reflected,  jotted  down  the  outlines  of  a 
discourse,  and  then  went  to  the  pulpit,  trusting  to  suggestion 
of  the  moment  for  the  phraseology  he  should  employ  ;  but  he 
found  that  the  ampler  his  materials  were,  the  more  difficult  was 
the  utterance.  His  experience  in  this  respect,,  he  used  to  com- 
pare to  the  familiar  phenomenon  of  a  bottle  with  water  in  it, 
turned  suddenly  upside  down  :  the  nearly  empty  bottle  dis- 
charges itself  fluently,  and  at  once  ;  the  nearly  full  one,  labors 
in  the  efi'ort,  and  lets  out  its  contents  with  jerks,  and  large  ex- 
plosions, and  suddenly  stops,  as  if  choked  by  its  own  fullness. 
So  it  was  with  Mr.  Chalmers  in  his  first  efforts  at  extempore 
preaching.  A  twofold  impediment  lay  in  the  way  of  his  suc- 
cess. It  was  not  easy  to  light  at  once  upon  words  or  phrases 
which  could  give  anything  like  adequate  conveyance  to  con- 
victions so  intense  as  his  were  ;  and  he  could  not  be 
satisfied,  and  with  no  comfort  could  he  proceed,  while  an 
interval  so  wide  remained  between  the  truth  as  it  was 
felt,  and  the  truth  as  his  words  had  represented  it.  Over 
and  over  again  was  the  efi'ort  made  to  find  powerful 
enough  and  expressive  enough  phraseology.  But  even  had 
this  difi&culty  not  existed  —  even  though  he  had  been  content 


^T.    83.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  57 

with  the  first  suggested  words,  he  never  could  be  satisfied  till 
he  had  exhausted  every  possible  way  of  setting  forth  the 
truth,  so  as  to  force  or  win  for  it  an  entrance  into  the  minds  of 
his  hearers.  So  very  eager  was  he  at  this  period  of  his  minis- 
try, to  communicate  the  impressions  which  glowed  so  fervidly 
within  his  own  heart,  that  even  when  he  had  written  a  sermon 
to  deliver,  he  often,  as  if  dissatisfied  with  all  that  he  had  said, 
would  try  at  the  close  to  put  the  matter  in  simpler  words,  or 
present  it  in  other  lights,  or  urge  it  in  more  direct  and  affection- 
ate address.  But  when  the  restraints  of  a  written  composition 
were  thrown  away,  when  not  at  the  close  only,  but  from  the 
very  beginning  of  his  address,  this  powerful  impulse  operated, 
he  often  found  that  instead  of  getting  over  the  ground  marked 
down  in  his  study  to  be  traversed,  the  whole  allotted  time  was 
consumed  while  he  was  laboring  away  with  the  first  or  second 
preliminary  idea.  After  a  succession  of  efforts,  the  attempt 
at  extempore  preaching  was  relinquished  ;  but  he  carried  into 
the  study  that  insatiable  desire  to  effect  a  secure  and  effective 
lodgment  of  the  truth  in  the  minds  of  others,  which  had  so 
much  to  do  with  the  origin  of  all  that  amplification  and  reiter- 
ation with  which  his  writings  abound.  In  preparing  for  the 
pulpit,  he  scarcely  ever  sat  down  to  write  without  the  idea  of 
other  minds,  whom  it  was  his  object  to  impress,  being  either 
more  distinctly  or  more  latently  present  to  his  thoughts  ;  and 
he  seldom  rose  from  writing  without  the  feeling  that  still  other 
modes  of  influential  representation  remained  untried." 


CHAPTER   V 

During  the  succeeding  years  of  Mr.  Chalmers's  residence  at 
Kilmany,  the  one  grand,  all-pervading  thought  of  salvation 
trough  Christ  Jesus  runs  through  all  the  productions  of  his  pen  ; 
imbues  his  correspondence,  it  was  the  only  cause  for  which 
he  published  and  spoke,  and  it  fills  the  pages  of  his  journal. 
Regularly  recur  his  monthly  dedications,  those  days  of  sol- 
emn renewal  of  his  self- consecration  to  the  service  of  God. 
And  more  frequently  were  portions  of  days  set  apart  for  medi- 
tation, prayer,  and  self-examination. 

Those  vears  were  also  the  ^-erminatincr  time  of  all  those 
ideas  whose  maturity  constituted  the  greatness  of  his  after  life. 

"  The  volume  of  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  which  con- 
tained the  article  'Christianity,'  was  published  early  in  1813.'* 
Although  with  so  general  a  title,  the  article  was  restricted  to 
external  evidences  of  Christianity.  Its  merits  as  an  argu- 
ment, on  that  point,  were  readily  recognized  ;  but  the  manner 
in  which  the  author  had  set  aside  the  consideration  of  internal 
evidence,  created  dissatisfaction  among  many  of  his  warmest 
friends  ;  and  when,  afterward,  the  proprietors  of  the  Encyclo- 
pedia issued  it  in  a  separate  volume,  the  reviews,  generally  fa- 
vorable in  other  respects,  united  in  condemnation  of  that  fea- 
ture. A  volume  was  also  published  by  Professor  Mearns,  of 
Aberdeen,  to  prove  that  Mr.  Chalmers  had  made  common  cause 
with  Atheism,  giving  rise  to  some  farther  bickerings,  wherein 
Mr.  Chalmers  declined  to  participate.  He  was  unwilling  to 
barricade  his  mind,  by  means  of  controversial  excitement, 
against  any  future  accession  of  enlarging  views.  To  the  criti- 
cisms he  never  replied  ;  but  went  to  work  more  thoroughly  to 
examine  the  ground  of  their  objections  ;  nor  was  it  until  six- 
teen years  afterward  that  he  gave  the  public  any  indication  of 
the  fruits  which  those  attacks  upon  his  treatise  had  assisted  in 
(58) 


^T.    34.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  59 

maturing,  and  still  seven  years  later  we  find  him  adding  to  the 
extent  and  value  of  the  same  work. 

The  treatment  of  miracles  had  been  designedly  omitted  in 
the  article  Christianity,  as  belonging  more  properly  to  the  head 
of  *  Testimony,'  which  had  also  been  assigned  to  Mr.  Chal- 
mers. An  article  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  indorsing  the 
doctrine  of  Hume,  stimulated  his  endeavor  to  have  that  treatise 
published  also;  but  no  such  zeal,  co-operating  with  the  solicit- 
ations of  friends,  could  prevail  upon  him  to  issue  anything  im- 
mature on  so  important  a  point.  It  was  not  until  many  years 
afterward,  that  he  found  leisure  enough  to  do  justice  to  it. 
**And  when  at  last,  in  his  preparations  for  the  Theological 
Chair  in  Edinburgh,  he  entered  upon  the  investigation,  the  re- 
sult— precious  in  proportion  to  the  time  taken  in  maturing  it — 
was  a  new  and  triumphant  answer  to  Hume,  an  original  and 
most  valuable  contribution  to  the  evidences  of  Christianity." 

''About  the  time  at  which  the  article  *  Christianity,'  was 
presented  in  a  separate  form  to  the  public,  Mr.  Chalmers 
issued  his  pamphlet  entitled  *  the  Influence  of  Bible  Socie- 
ties upon  the  Temporal  Necessities  of  the  Poor.'  When 
he  went  to  reside  in  Hawick,  a  legal  assessment  for  the  relief 
of  the  poor,  had  for  many  years  existed  in  that  parish.  The 
mode  and  results  of  its  operation  were  to  him  a  matter  of  new 
and  most  interesting  investigation.  After  his  own  settlement 
at  Kilmany,  where  there  were  no  poor-rates,  he  instituted  a 
comparison  between  the  two  parishes.  As  Havdck  embraced 
a  considerable  manufacturing  population,  it  was  natural  to 
expect  that  its  pauperism  should  be  relatively  greater  than 
that  of  a  purely  agricultural  parish  ;  but  the  rapid  rate  at 
which  the  amount  of  the  assessment  had  increased,  so  much 
beyond  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  population,  was  incapa- 
ble of  being  accounted  for  by  the  occupations  in  which  the 
people  were  engaged.  Taking  again  the  same  number  of 
paupers  in  each  parish,  the  expenditure  in  Hawick  greatly 
exceeded  that  in  Kilmany  ;  and  yet,  when  the  houses,  the 
food,  the  clothing,  the  comforts  of  each  were  inspected,  the 
condition   of  the  latter,  instead    of  being    much  worse,  was 


60  LIFE  OF  DR.  CHALMERS. 


1814. 


found  to  be  much  better  than  that  of  the  former.  Further 
inquiry  satisfied  Mr.  Chalmers,  that  where  there  were  no 
poor-rates,  where  the  parish  bounty  was  spontaneous,  con- 
sisting of  the  offerings  at  the  church  doors,  and  distributed  by 
members  of  the  kirk  session,  who  knew  the  position  and  habits 
of  those  to  whose  wants  they  ministered,  the  sum  contributed, 
by  pubHc  charity,  constituted  but  a  small  portion  of  those 
supplies  by  which  the  existing  poverty  was  relieved  ;  the 
remaining,  and  larger  portion,  coming  from  relatives  and 
neighbors.  A  public  fund,  raised  not  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion, but  by  legal  enforcement,  and  which  ostensibly  charged 
itself  with  the  full  and  adequate  relief  of  all  the  poverty  of  a 
neighborhood,  had  the  direct  effect  of  cutting  off  that  second 
and  more  copious  current  of  supply.  It  v/as  in  this  way  that 
the  Hawick  pauper,  on  the  whole,  lost  more  by  the  operation 
of  an  assessment,  than  he  gained  by  the  increase  of  his  allow- 
ance. At  Kilmany,  the  receiving  of  parochial  aid  was  felt 
to  be  almost  a  reproach,  and  it  was  frequently  refused.  But 
Mr.  Chalmers  noticed,  and  was  much  struck  with  the  fact, 
that  when  those  who,  if  they  had  remained  in  his  parish, 
never  would  have  suffered  their  names  to  appear  in  the  poor 
roll,  removed  to  Dundee,  and  there  became  claimants  upon 
the  legally-enforced  liberality  of  the  public,  on  their  return 
to  Kilmany,  exhibited  a  tone  of  feeling  and  line  of  practice 
altogether  changed.  It  was  common  enough  for  those  who 
received  aid  from  a  kirk  session  administering  the  free  alms 
of  the  people,  when  their  circumstances  improved,  voluntarily 
to  relinquish  what  had  thus  been  allowed  ;  but  such  conduct 
was  never  exemplified  by  those  who  had  become  paupers  at 
Dundee.  Pursuing  his  inquiries  into  the  condition  of  the 
poor,  and  into  their  moral  feelings  and  habits,  as  affected  by 
the  way  in  which  their  wants  were  relieved,  Mr.  Chalmers 
was  prepared,  so  early  as  the  year  1808,  publicly  to  affirm  : 
*  It  is  in  the  power  of  charity  to  corrupt  its  object  :  it  may 
tempt  him  to  indolence  ;  it  may  lead  him  to  renounce  all 
dependence  upon  himself  ;  it  may  nourish  the  meanness  and 
depravity  of  his  character  ;   it  may  lead  him  to  hate  exertion. 


MT.  84.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  61 

and  resign,  without  a  sigh,  the  dignity  of  independence.  It 
could  easily  be  proved,  that  if  charity  were  carried  to  its  ut- 
most extent,  it  would  unhinge  the  constitution  of  society.  It 
would  expel  from  the  land  the  blessings  of  industry.  Every 
man  would  repose  on  the  beneficence  of  another  ;  every  in- 
citement to  diligence  would  be  destroyed.  The  evils  of  pov- 
erty would  multiply  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  beyond  the 
power  of  the  most  unbounded  charity  to  redress  them  ;  and 
instead  of  an  elysium  of  love  and  of  plenty,  the  country  would 
present  the  nauseating  spectacle  of  sloth,  and  beggary,  and 
corruption.'  " 

The  observations  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Morton,  upon  the 
working  of  the  poor-rates  in  England,  went  to  confirm  him  in 
the  correctness  of  his  views.  Settling  in  a  purely  agricultural 
district  in  Somersetshire,  and  in  a  parish  whose  population  was 
just  four  above  that  of  Kilmany,  Mr.  Morton  was  astonished  to 
find  that  the  poor-rates  amounted  to  £1260,  while  the  poor  of 
Kilmany  were  supported  on  from  j^20  to  j£30.  "  There  could 
not  have  been  a  fairer  comparison,  or  a  more  instructive  con- 
trast :  nor  was  it  very  long  till  public  and  effective  use  was 
made  of  it." 

About  the  same  time,  another  mine  was  opened  which  he  af- 
terward wrought  with  eminent  success,  in  the  application  of 
science  to  the  service  of  religion.  The  above  mentioned  pam- 
phlet **  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  when  Mr.  Chal- 
mers was  requested,  by  Mr.  Andrew  Thomson,  to  prepare  a 
notice  of  Cuvier's  recently  translated  work.  Werner  was  but 
beginning  to  be  known,  Hutton's  speculations  had  only  recently 
appeared  in  the  *  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edin- 
burgh,' and  Play  fair  was  as  yet  gathering  the  materials  for  his 
*  Illustrations  of  the  Huttonian  Theory,'  when  the  attention 
of  Mr.  Chalmers  was  first  turned  to  the  subject  of  geology. 
This  infant  science  was  imagined  by  theologians  generally 
(even  in  the  confused  and  conflicting  babbhng  of  its  child- 
hood), to  speak  in  a  tone  decidedly  infidel,  and  with  a  haste 
and  an  injustice  equal  to  that  which  they  charged  upon 
their   fancied    adversary,    they    would    have    stifled    a  voice 


62  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1814; 

whicli  appeared  to  conflict  with  that  of  the  divine  oracles. 
The  merit,  I  believe,  belongs  to  Mr.  Chalmers  of  having 
been  the  first  clergyman  in  the  country,  who,  yielding  to  the 
evidence  in  favor  of  a  much  higher  antiquity  being  assigned 
to  the  earth  than  had  previously  been  conceived,  suggested 
the  manner  in  which  such  a  scientific  faith  could  be  harmo- 
nized with  the  Mosaic  narrative,  and  who,  even  in  the  dreaded 
investigations  of  the  geologist,  discerned  and  indicated  fresh 
'footprints  of  the  Creator.'" 

Another  step  was  also  taken  in  the  service  of  the  Missionary 
cause,  by  an  article  contributed  to  the  Eclectic  Review,  and 
written  in  the  autumn  of  1814.  The  subject  was  suggested  by 
one  which  had  recently  appeared  in  the  **  Edinburgh  Review," 
referring  the  success  of  the  Moravians,  as  missionaries,  to  the 
assumed  fact,  that  they  began  by  instructing  the  heathen  in 
the  art  of  civilization,  and  asserting  that  it  is  by  such  a  method 
alone  that  "those  in  a  certain  state  of  ignorance  and  barbarism 
are  to  be  gained  over  to  the  truth."  "Mr.  Chalmers  undertook 
to  manifest  the  reviewer's  total  ignorance  of  the  means  which 
had  been  actually  pursued  by  the  Moravians,  whose  labors 
were  so  applauded,  and  out  of  those  very  labors  to  construct 
the  most  convincing  of  all  arguments  against  the  theory  which 
at  that  period,  was  such  a  favorite  with  the  opponents  of  mis- 
sionary efibrts,  namely,  that  you  must  civilize  before  you  can 
christianize  a  barbarous  community."  Indeed,  one  of  the  most 
instructive  lessons  on  this  subject,  is  derived  from  the  experi- 
ence of  the  Moravians.  For  many  years  their  "  missionaries 
in  Greenland,  had  labored  to  train  the  natives  to  habits  of  in- 
dustry, and  to  instruct  them  in  the  first  and  simplest  truths  of 
religion,  studiously  withholding  from  them  the  deeper  myste- 
ries of  the  christian  faith;  but  no  sensible  effect  followed.  One 
day,  however,  while  one  of  their  number  was  engaged  in  mak- 
ing a  fair  copy  of  a  translation  of  one  of  the  gospels,  a  crowd 
of  natives  gathered  round  him,  curious  to  know  the  contents 
of  the  book.  He  read  to  them  the  history  of  our  Saviour's  suf- 
ferings and  death.  *  How  was  that  ?'  said  one  of  the  savages, 
stepping  up  to  the  table  at  which  the  missionary  was  sitting,  his 


^T.    34.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  63 

voice  trembling  with  emotion  as  he  spoke,  *  How  was  that  ?' 
Tell  me  that  once  more,  for  I,  too,  would  fain  be  saved  !' 
*  These  words,'  writes  the  missionary,  '  the  hke  of  which  I 
had  never  heard  from  any  Greenlander,  pierced  my  very  soul, 
and  affected  me  so  much,  that  with  tears  in  my  eyes,  I  re- 
lated to  them  the  whole  history  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ, 
and  the  counsel  of  God  for  our  salvation.  The  Green- 
lander  who  put  the  question  was  the  first  convert  to  the 
truth  ;  and  the  mode  of  his  conversion  was  so  instructive, 
that  ever  afterward  the  first  office  of  the  Moravian  mission- 
aries was  to  proclaim  the  death  of  Jesus  as  the  great  expia- 
tion for  human  guilt,  and  only  ground  of  the  sinner's  hope 
for  eternity." 

In  the  business  of  Church  Courts,  in  which  he  was  afterward 
so  prominent  an  actor,  Mr.  Chalmers  had  hitherto  taken  httle 
interest.  The  records  of  the  presbytery  of  Cupar,  of  which 
he  was  a  member  for  more  than  twelve  years,  exhibit  but  a  sol- 
itary instance,  in  which  his  name  stands  connected  with  any 
presbyterial  act.  '*  But  within  the  bounds  of  his  own  synod  a 
question  had  now  arisen,  in  which  his  interest  was  too  great  to 
suffer  him  to  remain  inactive.  The  junction  of  a  professorship 
in  a  university  with  the  charge  of  a  country  parish  had  been 
rarely  known,  and  had  frequently  been  disallowed  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  although  the  General 
Assembly  of  1800  had  decided  in  favor  of  the  junction  of  the 
two  offices  in  the  instance  of  Dr.  Arnot's  settlement  in  Kings- 
barns,  the  conviction  gained  ground  that  it  was  a  union  which 
violated  the  constitution  of  the  Scottish  Establishment,  which 
had  always  required  constant  residence  in  their  parishes  on  the 
part  of  all  its  ministers.  That  conviction  was  very  unequivo- 
cally expressed  when,  in  the  year  1813,  the  Rev.  William  Fer- 
rie,  Professor  of  Civil  History  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews, 
was  presented  to  the  living  of  Kilconquhar.  At  first,  the  pres- 
bytery of  St.  Andrew's  refused  to  admit  him  to  the  pastoral 
charge,  unless  he  gave  them  the  assurance,  which  he  refused 
to  do,  that  before,  or  at  the  time  of  his  ordination,  he  would 
resign  bis  professorship.     Upon  appeal  to  the  General  Assem- 


64  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1814. 

bly,  held  at  Edinburgh,  in  May,  1813,  by  the  narrow,  and,  at 
that  time,  unusually  small  majority  of  five,  the  decision  of  the 
Presbytery  of  St.  Andrew's  was  reversed,  and  they  were  ap- 
pointed to  proceed  with  Mr.  Ferrie's  settlement  as  minister  of 
Kilconquhar,  *  with  all  convenient  speed,  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  Church.'  In  compliance  with  this  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  a  committee  of  Presbytery  met  at  Kil- 
conquhar for  the  purpose  of  moderating  in  a  call,  and  re- 
ported to  a  subsequent  meeting  that  no  signatures  whatever 
had  been  attached  to  it.  At  the  same  time,  however,  a 
letter  was  laid  before  the  Presbytery,  in  which  all  the 
principal  landholders  of  Kilconquhar,  three  out  of  four  of  the 
elders,  and  many  heads  of  families,  apologized  for  not  having 
signed  the  call  at  the  proper  time,  and  expressed  their  con- 
currence in  Mr.  Ferrie's  settlement.  At  this  stage  the 
matter  was  referred  to  the  Synod,  for  the  meeting  of  which, 
on  the  12th  October,  Mr.  Chalmers,  made  the  most  anxious 
and  careful  preparation.  It  had  been  his  impression  that  the 
want  of  a  call  would  oppose  an  effectual  barrier  against  Mr. 
Ferrie's  ordination,  or  that  an  opportunity  would,  at  least, 
present  itself  for  discussing  the  general  question  of  the  pro- 
priety of  such  pluralities.  But  he  was  disappointed.  Mr. 
Ferrie's  friends  yielded  the  question  as  to  the  sustaining  of 
the  letter  as  equivalent  to  a  call,  and  the  Synod,  appointing 
the  Presbytery  to  moderate  in  a  new  call,  left  the  decision 
of  the  General  Assembly  to  be  carried  into  effect.  It  was 
to  Mr.  Chalmers  a  *  day  of  mortification,'  from  which  he  re- 
turned home  '  jaded,  mortified,  useless.'  But,  although  they 
were  obliged  to  yield  to  the  decision  of  their  supreme  judiciary, 
upon  this  particular  case,  the  opponents  of  such  pluralities  had 
become  too  numerous  and  too  zealous  throughout  the  church 
to  abandon  the  question  in  despair."  The  question  was  brought 
"in  its  general  form  before  the  Assembly  of  1814,  and  the 
*  day  of  mortification'  in  the  Synod,  more  than  compensated  by 
a  day  of  triumph  in  the  Assembly."  Mr.  Chalmers  took  a 
prominent  and  most  successful  part  in  the  debate,  which  termi- 
nated in  declaratory  enactment,  "  prohibiting,  in  future,  such 


^T.    81.  LIFE    OF    DR     CHALMERS.  65 

pluralities  as  had  been  permitted  in  the  cases  of  Dr.  Arnot  and 
Mr.  Ferrie.  A  succeeding  Assembly  was  persuaded  to  cancel 
this  enactment,  on  the  alleged  ground  that  it  was  incompetent 
and  unconstitutional  to  pass  such  an  act  without  the  advice  of 
the  presbyteries  of  the  Church.  An  overture,  embodying  its 
terms,  was  sent  down  to  the  presbyteries  by  the  General  As- 
sembly of  1816  ;  and  a  majority  of  the  returns  having  been  in 
its  favor,  it  passed  into  a  standing  law  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land in  1817,  that  a  chair  in  a  university  cannot  be  held  in 
conjunction  with  a  country  parochial  charge." 


CHAPTER  YI. 

"  Parochial  duty  pressed  lightly  upon  Mr.  Chalmers  during 
the  first  seven  years  of  his  ministry  at  Kilmany.     If  he  *  ex- 
pended as  much  effort  upon  the  religious  improvement  of  his 
people  as  any  minister  within  the  bounds  of  his  presbytery,' 
if  he  could  triumphantly  challenge  his  brethren  to  prove  that 
he  had  been  *  outstripped  by  any  of  his  predecessors  in  the 
regularity    of   his    ministerial    attentions,'    the    standards    to 
which  he  thus  appealed  must  have  been  miserably  low.     The 
sick  and  the  dying  among  his  parishioners  had  not,  indeed, 
been  neglected  during  those  earher  years.     Kindly  inquiries 
were  made,  tender  sympathy  was  shown,  and  needful  aid  was 
tendered  ;  but  no  solicitude  was  manifested  as  to  their  reli- 
gious condition,  no  references  occurred  in  visiting  them  to  their 
state  and  prospects  for  eternity,  and  it  was  only  when  spe- 
cially requested  to  do  so  that  he   engaged  in  prayer.     Two 
or  three  weeks  were  annually  devoted  to  a  visitation  of  his 
parish,  so  rapidly  conducted  that  he  scarcely  did  more  than 
hurriedly  enter  many  a  dwelling,  to  summon  its   inmates  to 
a  short  address,  given  in   some  neighboring  apartment,  and 
confined  generally  to  one  or  other  of  the  more  ordinary  mo- 
ralities of  domestic  life.     With  the  general  body  of  his  par- 
ishioners  he   had  little  intercourse.       They  might  meet  him 
occasionally  on   the  road,   and   receive   the   kindliest  notice, 
but  the  smile  of  friendly  recognition  broke  over  a  countenance 
of  dreamy  abstraction :  and  when  the  quickly -made  but  cor- 
dial   salutation  was   over,  and    he  was    gone,  his  wondering 
parishioners  would   gaze    after  him    as    upon    a  man  wholly 
addicted  to  very  strange,  and,  in  the  eyes  of  many  of  them, 
very  questionable  pursuits.      Comparatively  little  time  or  care 
was  bestowed  upon  his  pulpit  preparations.     *  I  have  known 
him,'    says    Mr.    Smith,    'not   to    begin    them    til}    Sabbath 
morning.      He    told   me   that   he  wrote    in  short-hand,  and 
(66) 


^T.    33.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  67 

when  once  he  began  he  kept  the  pen  going  till  he  had  fin- 
ished the  discourse.  His  sermons  Avere  in  general  very  short.' 
but  they  were  written  in  a  fervid  strain,  and  delivered  with 
energetic  animation.  The  first  effect,  indeed,  of  the  great 
spiritual  change,  was  to  chasten  rather  than  to  stimulate  the 
vehemence  of  his  delivery  in  the  pulpit.  In  those  earlier 
days,  whether  from  choice  or  from  necessity,  he  frequently 
preached  without  any  written  notes.  The  obstructions  after- 
ward complained  of,  and  felt  to  be  invincible,  do  not  then 
appear  to  have  stood  much  in  his  way,  for  he  never  used  so 
ardent  and  so  significant  an  elocution,  as  in  those  fervid  ex- 
tempore expostulations  upon  stealing,  or  lying,  or  backbiting, 
explained,  according  to  popular  belief,  by  the  circumstance, 
that  the  minister  had  come  home  late  on  the  Saturday  even- 
ing, and  that  the  indefatigable  newsmonger,  John  Bonthron, 
had  been  seen  entering  the  manse  shortly  after  his  arrival. 
When  the  impulse  moved,  or  the  occasion  invited,  Mr.  Chal- 
mers could  write  as  eloquently  then  as  he  ever  did  afterward. 
The  two  fast-day  sermons  of  this  period  have  been  compared 
with  that  splendid  discourse  which  the  occasion  of  the  first 
of  them  elicited  from  Robert  Hall.  Without  pressing  that 
comparison  to  an  issue,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  very  signal 
proof  of  the  native  genius  of  their  author,  that  two  discourses 
written  off-hand,  written,  in  all  likelihood,  each  at  a  single 
sitting,  prepared  for  thin  audiences  of  unsympathizing  rustics, 
and  thrown  aside  as  soon  as  delivered,  should  be  capable  of 
bearing  a  comparison  with  an  effort  which  was  made,  in  the 
first  instance,  before  a  crowded  and  intelligent  audience,  and 
upon  which  all  the  care  and  skill  of  one  of  the  greatest  mas- 
ters in  the  art  of  composition  had  afterward  been  lavished. 
Upon  the  whole,  however,  and  till  the  period  of  his  illness 
at  Fincraigs,  Mr.  Chalmers's  ministry  was  unpopular  and 
ineffective,  his  church  but  poorly  attended,  and  his  private 
ministrations  followed  with  but  trifling  effects.  But  the  great 
change  came,  and  with  it  a  total  alteration  in  the  discharge 
of  all  parochial  duty.  From  a  place  of  visible  subordination, 
the   spiritual  care   and  cultivation  of  his  parish  was  elevated 


68  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1813. 

to  the  place  of  clear  and  recognized  supremacy.  To  break 
up  the  peace  of  the  indifferent  and  secure  by  exposing  at 
once  the  guilt  of  their  ungodliness,  and  its  fearful  issue  in  a 
ruined  eternity  ;  to  spread  out  an  invitation  wide  as  heaven's 
own  all-embracing  love,  to  every  awakened  sinner  to  accept 
of  eternal  life  in  Jesus  Christ ;  to  plead  with  all,  that  in- 
stantly and  heartily,  with  all  good-will,  and  with  full  and 
unreserved  submission,  they  should  give  themselves  up  in 
absolute  and  entire  dedication  to  the  Redeemer  ;  these  were 
the  objects  for  which  he  was  now  seen  to  strive,  with  such 
a  'severity  of  conviction'  as  implied  that  he  had  one  thing 
to  do,  and  '  with  such  a  concentration  of  his  forces  as  to  idle 
spectators  looked  like  insanity.' 

"  The  first  use  he  made  of  that  returning  strength  which, 
after  so  many  months'  confinement,  enabled  him  to  cross 
again  the  threshold  of  Fincraigs,  was  to  visit  all  the  sick,  the 
dying,  and  the  bereaved  in  his  parish  ;  and  when  all  trace  and 
feeling  of  his  own  infirmity  had  departed,  he  still  delighted  to 
mingle  his  sympathies  with  the  weak  and  the  sorrowful.  There 
was,  indeed,  such  a  restless  activity  about  his  manner,  such  a 
physical  incapacity  for  very  soft  or  gentle  movements,  that  the 
sick-room  seemed  an  uncongenial  place  ;  yet  there  was  such 
exquisite  tenderness  of  feeling,  such  rapid  appreciation  of  the 
condition  of  the  patient,  and  such  capacity  in  a  few  short  and 
weighty  sentences  to  minister  to  his  spiritual  sorrows  or  per- 
plexity, that  a  brief  visit  from  him  was  often  sufficient  to  shed 
a  flood  of  light  upon  the  understanding,  or  to  pour  a  full  tide 
of  comfort  into  the  heart.  Extreme  delicacy  of  feeling  and 
his  own  great  reserve  threw  obstacles  in  his  way,  which  were 
often  very  painfully  felt  by  him.  But  if  he  could  not  at  once 
overcome  the  barriers  which  lay  in  the  way  of  an  immediate, 
free,  and  confidential  spiritual  intercourse,  he  could  speak  of 
Him  whose  love  to  sinners  had  no  limits,  and  lay  under  no 
restraints.  '  No  one  ever  preached  the  gospel  to  the  dying 
with  greater  simplicity  or  fullness,  and  yet  with  characteristic 
simplicity,  he  would  often  say,  *  Oh  !  that  I  could  preach  to 
the   sick   and  dying   as  Mr.    Tait,   of  Tealing,  does.'  "     His 


Ml    83.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  69 

interest  in  this,  as  in  every  other  part  of  his  ministerial  labors, 
grew  with  his  own  advancing  light  and  love.  During  the 
years  1813,  1814,  the  only  two  years  of  full  ministerial  labor 
at  Kilmany,  he  made  a  few  short  hand  memoranda,  entitled, 
*  Records  of  spiritual  intercourse  with  my  people,'  from  which 
our  limits  permit  us  to  make  only  one  or  two  extracts  : 

''February  ^Isi. — Visited  at  Dalyell  Lodge.  They  are  in 
great  affliction  for  the  death  of  a  child.  I  prayed  with  them. 
O  God,  make  me  wise  and  faithful,  and  withal  affectionate  in 
my  management  of  these  cases.  I  fear  that  something  of  the 
sternness  of  systematic  orthodoxy  adheres  to  me.  Let  me 
give  up  all  sternness  ;  but  let  me  never  give  up  the  only  name 
by  which  men  can  be  saved,  or  the  necessity  of  forsaking  all 
to  follow  Him,  whether  as  a  Saviour  or  a  Prince. 

"  June   2d. — Mr. sent  for  me  in  prospect  of  death  ; 

a  man  of  profligate  and  profane  habits,  who  resents  my  calling 
him  an  unworthy  sinner,  and  who  spoke  in  loud  and  confident 
strains  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  and  that  it  would  save  him.  0 
God,  give  me  wisdom  in  these  matters  to  declare  the  whole  of 
thy  counsel  for  the  salvation  of  men.  I  represented  to  him  the 
necessity  of  being  born  again,  of  being  humbled  under  a  sense 
of  his  sins,  of  repenting  and  turning  from  them.  O  may  I  turn 
it  to  my  own  case.  If  faith  in  Christ  is  so  unsuitable  from  his 
mouth  because  he  still  loves  sin,  and  is  unhumbled  because  of 
it,  should  not  the  conviction  be  forced  upon  me  that  I  labor 
myself  under  the  same  unsuitableness  ?  0  my  God,  give  me 
a  walk  suitable  to  my  profession,  and  may  the  power  of  Christ 
rest  upon  me. 

"  August  9ih. — Miss under  religious  concern.    0  my 

God,  send  her  help  from  Thy  sanctuary.  Give  me  wisdom 
for  these  cases.  Let  me  not  heal  the  WDund  slightly;  and, 
oh,  while  I  administer  comfort  in  Christ,  may  it  be  a  comfort 
according  to  godliness.  She  complains  of  the  prevalence  of 
sin.  Let  me  not  abate  her  sense  of  its  sinfulness.  Let  me 
preach  Christ  in  all  his  entireness  as  one  that  came  to  atone 
for  the  guilt  of  sin,  and  to  redeem  from  its  power. 

"Prosecuting  his  earlier  practice  of  visiting  and  examining 


J 


70  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1813. 

in  alternate  years,  lie  commenced  a  visitation  of  his  parish  in 
1813,  which,  instead  of  being  finished  in  a  fortnight,  was 
spread  over  a  whole  year.  As  many  families  as  could  con- 
veniently be  assembled  in  one  apartment  were  in  the  first  in- 
stance visited  in  their  own  dwellings,  where,  without  any  reli- 
gious exercise,  a  free  and  cordial  conversation,  longer  or  shorter 
as  the  case  required,  informed  him  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
different  households.  When  they  afterward  met  together,  he 
read  the  Scriptures,  prayed,  and  exhorted,  making  at  times  the 
most  familiar  remarks,  using  very  simple  yet  memorable  illus- 
trations. 'I  have  a  very  lively  recollection,'  says  Mr.  Robert 
Edie,  '  of  the  intense  earnestness  of  his  addresses  on  occasions 
of  visitation  in  my  father's  house,  when  he  would  unconsciously 
move  forward  on  his  chair  to  the  very  margin  of  it,  in  his 
anxiety  to  impart  to  the  family  and  servants  the  impression  of 
eternal  things  that  so  filled  his  own  soul.'  *  It  would  take  a 
great  book,'  said  he,  beginning  his  address  to  one  of  these 
household  congregations,  '  to  contain  the  names  of  all  the  in- 
dividuals that  have  ever  lived,  from  the  days  of  Adam  down 
to  the  present  hour,  but  there  is  one  name  that  takes  in  the 
whole  of  them — that  name  is  sinner,  and  here  is  a  message 
from  God  to  every  one  that  bears  that  name,  *  The  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ.  His  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.'  "  Wishing 
to  tell  them  what  kind  of  faith  God  would  have  them  to  cher- 
ish, and  what  kind  of  fear,  and  how  it  was  that  instead  of  hin- 
dering each  other,  the  right  fear  and  the  right  faith  worked 
into  each  other's  hands,  he  said,  *Itis  just  as  if  you  threw 
out  a  rope  to  a  drowning  man.  Faith  is  the  hold  he  takes  of 
it.  It  is  fear  which  makes  him  grasp  it  with  all  his  might,  and 
the  greater  his  fear,  the  firmer  his  hold.'  Again,  to  illustrate 
what  the  Spirit  did  with  the  Word  :  *  This  book,  the  Bible,  is 
like  a  wide  and  beautiful  landscape,  seen  afar  off,  dim  and 
confused  ;  but  a  good  telescope  will  bring  it  near,  and  spread 
out  all  its  rocks,  and  trees,  and  flowers,  and  verdant  fields, 
and  winding  rivers  at  one's  very  feet.  That  telescope  is  the 
Spirit's  teaching.* 

In  the  autumn  of  1813,  Mr.  Chalmers  opened  a  class  in 


^T.   S4.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  71 

his  own  house  upon  the  Saturdays,  for  the  rehgious  instruction 
of  the  young.  At  first  he  intended  that  it  should  meet 
monthly :  the  numbers,  however,  who  presented  themselves 
for  instruction,  and  the  ardor  with  which  they  entered  upon 
the  tasks  prescribed,  induced  a  change  of  purpose.  After  the 
first  meeting  or  two,  he  announced  his  intention  to  hold  the 
class  each  fortnight,  and  erelong  it  met  weekly  at  the  manse. 
He  drew  out  a  series  of  simple  propositions,  which  embraced 
a  full  system  of  Christian  doctrine ;  appending  to  each  a  refe- 
rence to  those  passages  of  the  Bible  in  which  the  truth  declared 
in  the  proposition  was  most  clearly  or  fully  revealed.  These 
propositions,  with  their  proofs,  were  printed  at  Dundee  ;  and 
the  little  volume  which  they  formed  has  already  been  circu- 
lated in  thousands  among  those  who  have  interested  them- 
selves in  the  religious  education  of  the  young.  Beside  his 
exercises  upon  Scripture  doctrine,  Mr.  Chalmers  read  and  ex- 
plained portions  of  the  Bible,  and  prescribed  select  passages 
for  committal  to  memory.  He  was  highly  gratified  by  the 
whole  youth  of  the  parish,  even  from  its  remoter  districts, 
comhig  forward  with  such  willingness  ;  and  he  repaid  their 
readiness  to  receive  instruction  by  making  diligent  preparation 
for  communicating  to  them  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and 
fixing  religious  impressions  on  their  hearts.  In  no  department 
of  his  ministerial  labors  did  he  take  a  deeper  interest,  and  upon 
none,  in  proportion  to  the  space  which  it  covered,  did  he  be- 
stow more  pains.  It  was  only  during  a  year  and  half  that  the 
class  continued,  and  yet  three  years  after  his  removal  from 
Kilmany  he  could  say  :  '  I  met  with  a  more  satisfying  evidence 
of  good  done  by  a  school  which  I  taught  when  at  Kilmany, 
than  by  all  I  ever  did  there  beside.  A  good  encouragement 
this  for  the  efforts  of  private  Christians  in  this  way.' 

Of  the  change  in  the  manner  of  his  pulpit  preparations  no 
person  is  entitled  to  speak  with  so  much  authority  as  his  son- 
in-law,  Dr.  Hanna,  as  having  access  to  all  the  manuscripts  and 
acquaintance  with  many  of  the  eye  and  ear-witnesses  of  those 
earher  efforts.  I  shall,  therefore,  permit  the  narrative  of  that 
time  to  continue  in  his  words. 


72  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1814, 

•*  Much,  however,  as  may  have  been  accomplished  by  the 
class,  the  pulpit  was,  after  all,  the  chief  instrument  of  power ; 
and  from  the  time  when  profound  religious  convictions  pene- 
trated his  spirit,  Mr.  Chalmers  labored  to  wield  that  instru- 
ment with  effect.  There  must  have  been  something  particu- 
larly pathetic  in  his  Sabbath  ministrations  during  the  summer 
months  of  1810.  The  muffled  invalid,  who  had  been  seen  to 
make  his  first  round  of  visits  to  all  the  houses  of  mourning  in 
the  parish,  and  of  whose  altered  bearing  and  impressive 
prayers  village  rumor  had  already  begun  to  speak,  appeared 
once  more  in  the  pulpit.  His  sunk  and  sallow  countenance  told 
of  the  ravages  of  disease.  He  looked  like  one  who  had  drawn 
very  near  to  death,  and  whom  a  few  steps  backward  would 
carry  again  to  the  very  edge  of  the  grave  ;  and  his  most  fre- 
quent topic  was  human  mortality,  the  shortness  of  time,  the 
nearness  and  awfulness  of  eternity.  'Where  are  the  men,'  he 
asked,  his  own  voice  sounding  over  the  congregation  like  an 
echo  from  the  tomb,  *  who  a  few  years  ago  gave  motion  and 
activity  to  this  busy  theater?  where  those  husbandmen  who 
lived  on  the  ground  that  you  now  occupy  ?  where  those  labor- 
ing poor  who  dwelt  in  your  houses  and  villages  ?  where  those 
ministers  who  preached  the  lessons  of  piety,  and  talked  of  the 
vanity  of  this  world  ?  where  those  people  who,  on  the  Sabbaths 
of  other  times,  assembled  at  the  sound  of  the  church-bell,  and 
filled  the  house  in  which  you  are  now  sitting?  Their  habita- 
tion is  the  cold  grave,  the  land  of  forgetfulness And 

we  are  the  children  of  these  fathers,  and  heirs  to  the  same 
awful  and  stupendous  destiny.  Ours  is  one  of  the  many 
generations  who  pass  in  rapid  succession  through  this  region 
of  life  and  of  sensibility.  The  time  in  which  I  live  is  but  a 
small  moment  of  this  world's  history.  When  we  rise  in  con- 
templation to  the  roll  of  ages  that  are  past,  the  momentary 
being  of  an  individual  shrinks  into  nothing.  It  is  the  flight 
of  a  shadow ;  it  is  a  dream  of  vanity ;  it  is  the  rapid  glance 
of  a  meteor ;  it  is  a  flower  which  every  breath  of  heaven  can 
wither  into  decay ;  it  is  a  tale  which  as  a  remembrance  vanish- 
eth  ;  it  is  a  day  which  the  silence  of  a  long  night  will  darken 


^T.  34.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  73 

and  overshadow.  In  a  few  years  our  heads  will  be  laid  in  the 
cold  grave,  and  the  green  turf  will  cover  us.  The  children 
who  come  after  us  will  tread  upon  our  graves  ;  they  will  weep 
for  us  a  few  days ;  they  will  talk  of  us  a  few  months  ;  they 
will  remember  us  a  few  years  ;  when  our  memory  shall  disap- 
pear from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  not  a  tongue  shall  be 

found  to  recall  it How  perishable  is  human  life, 

yet  no  man  lays  it  to  heart !' 

"  The  opening  months  of  1811,  as  they  brought  tranquillity 
and  establishment  to  his  own  heart,  so  they  gave  a  new  charac- 
ter to  his  Sabbath  ministrations.  It  was  not,  however,  till  the 
close  of  that  year  that  the  complete  re-establishment  of  his 
health  and  the  fulfillment  of  his  engagements  with  Dr.  Brew- 
ster, enabled  him  to  give  full  time  and  strength  to  his  compo- 
sitions for  the  pulpit.  The  result  was  a  series  of  discourses, 
a  goodly  number  of  which,  delivered  almost  verbally  as  origi- 
nally written,  were  listened  to  in  after  years  by  congregated 
thousands  in  Glasgow,  and  Edinburgh,  and  London,  with  won- 
dering and  entranced  admiration. 

"  I  have  been  able,"  continues  Dr.  Hanna,  "  to  trace  to  this  pe- 
riod so  many  of  the  sermons  afterward  selected  by  their  author  for 
publication,  and  have  found  so  few  alterations  made  on  the  origi- 
nal manuscripts  in  preparing  them  for  the  press,  as  to  be  satisfied 
that  the  three  final  years  of  his  ministry  at  Kilmany  supplied  as 
many,  as  elaborate,  and  as  eloquent  discourses,  as  any  other  three 
years  in  the  whole  course  of  his  ministry.  It  was  not  the  stimulus 
of  cultivated  audiences,  and  an  intellectual  sphere ;  it  was  not 
the  effort  to  win  or  sustain  a  wide-spread  popularity ;  it  was 
not  the  straining  after  originality  of  thought  or  splendor  of 
illustration,  which  gave  to  these  discourses  their  peculiar  form 
and  character.  They  were,  to  a  great  extent,  the  spontaneous 
products  of  that  new  love  and  zeal  which  divine  grace  had 
planted  in  his  soul ;  the  shape  and  texture  of  their  eloquence 
springing  from  the  combined  operation  of  all  his  energies,  intel- 
lectual, moral,  and  emotional,  whose  native  movements  were 
now  stimulated  into  a  more  glowing  intensity  of  action  by  that 
controlling  motive  which  concentrated  them  all  upon  one 
7 


74  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1814, 

single  and  sublime  accomplishment,  the  salvation  of  immortal 
souls. 

**  Much  time  and  great  care  were  bestowed  upon  these  pre- 
Darations  for  the  pulpit.  Instead  of  the  two  or  three  hours 
vhich  had  once  been  sufficient,  they  now  engrossed  the  leisure 
of  the  whole  preceding  week  ;  and  beside  that  weekly  amount 
of  composition  which  was  necessary  to  meet  the  demands  of 
each  succeeding  Sabbath,  he  had  always  a  discourse  in  pre- 
paration upon  which  the  occasional  efforts  of  a  whole  month 
were  expended  ;  the  two  sets  of  sermons,  from  the  different 
characters  in  which  they  were  written,  being  described  in  his 
own  vocabulary  as  his  short-handers  and  his  long-handers.* 
Not  a  few  of  these  more  slowly  and  carefully  composed  ser- 
mons were  designedly  upon  texts  from  which  he  had  preached 
in  other  years,  to  his  former  expositions  of  which  he  at  times 
pointedly  referred,  at  once  to  remedy  any  evil  which  his  earlier 
teaching  might  have  produced,  and  to  make  more  vivid  by 
the  contrast  his  present  understanding  of  the  sacred  oracles." 

While  preaching  with  such  fervor  the  great  doctrine  of  a 
gratuitous  salvatioi;i,  Mr.  Chalmers  did  not  rest  in  a  merely  vis- 
ionary faith  ;  but  both  endeavored,  in  his  own  practice,  and 
urged  upon  others,  to  aim  at  a  corresponding  walk  and  con- 
versation. "  His  ministry,  then,  as  afterward,  was  eminently 
practical.  He  set  his  face  against  every  form  of  evil,  both  in 
the  pulpit  and  out  of  it.  He  particularly  pressed  upon  coun- 
try people,  thorough  honesty  and  uprightness,  and  the  practice 
of  the  law  of  love,  by  abstaining  from  all  malice  and  evil 
speaking.  The  ostentation  of  flaming  orthodoxy,  or  talk  of  re- 
ligious experience,  when  not  borne  out  by  the  life,  was  the 
object  of  his  thorough  abhorrence." 

*'  It  was  not  long  till  the  whole  aspect  of  the  Sabbath  con- 
gregations in  Kilmany  church  was  changed.  The  stupid 
wonder  which  used  to  sit  on  the  countenances  of  the  few 
villagers  or  farm  servants,  who  attended  divine  service,  was 

*  Dr.  Chalmers  frequently  advised  young  ministers,  in  addition  to 
their  ordinary  preparations,  to  have  a  monthly  and  more  elaborate  ser- 
mon always  in  progress. 


JEf.  84.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  75 

turned  into  a  fixed,  intelligent,  and  devout  attention.  It 
was  not  easy  for  the  dullest  to  remain  uninformed  ;  for,  if 
the  preacher  sometimes  soared  too  high  for  the  best  trained 
of  his  people  to  follow  him,  at  other  times,  and  much  oftener, 
he  put  the  matter  of  his  message  so  as  to  force  for  it  an  en- 
trance into  the  most  sluggish  understanding.  Nor  was  it 
easy  for  the  most  indifferent  to  remain  unmoved,  as  the  first 
fervors  of  a  new-born  faith  and  love  found  such  thrilling 
strains  in  which  to  vent  themselves.  The  church  became 
crowded.  The  feeling  grew  with  the  numbers  who  shared 
in  it.  The  fame  of  those  wonderful  discourses  which  were 
now  emanating  from  the  burning  lips  of  this  new  evangelist, 
spread  throughout  the  neighborhood,  till,  at  last,  there  was 
not  an  adjacent  parish  which  did  not  send  its  weekly  contribu- 
tion to  his  ministry.  Persons  from  extreme  distances  in  the 
county,  found  themselves  side  by  side  in  the  same  crowded 
pew.  Looking  over  the  congregation,  the  inhabitant  of  Dun- 
dee could  generally  count  a  dozen  or  two  of  his  fellow-towns- 
men around  him,  while  ministers  from  Edinburgh  or  Glasgow 
were  occasionally  detected  among  the  crowd. 

**  All  this  told  distinctly  enough  of  the  popularity  of  the 
preacher  ;  but  within  the  parish,  and  as  the  effect  of  such 
a  ministry  as  has  now  been  described,  what  were  the  spiritual 
results  ?  Too  delicate  a  question  this  for  any  full  or  satis- 
factory reply  ;  but  of  one  Sabbath's  service  we  shall  tell  the 
fruits.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  1812,  and  the  preacher's  text 
was  John,  iii,  16:  '  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'  Two  young  men  heard  this 
sermon,  the  one  the  son  of  a  farmer  in  the  parish,  the  other 
the  son  of  one  of  the  villagers.  They  met  as  the  congregation 
dispersed.  *  Did  you  feel  anything  particularly  in  church  to- 
day ?'  Alexander  Patterson  said  to  his  acquaintance,  Robert 
Edie,  as  they  found  themselves  alone  on  the  road.  *  I  never,' 
he  continued,  *felt  myself  to  be  a  lost  sinner  till  to-day,  when  I 
was  listening  to  that  sermon.'  *  It  is  very  strange,'  said  his 
companion  ;    'it  was  just  the  same  with  me.'      They  were 


J 


76  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1814. 

near  a  plantation,  into  which  they  wandered,  as  the  conversa- 
tion proceeded.  Hidden  at  last  from  all  human  sight,  it  was 
proposed  that  they  should  join  in  prayer.  Screened  by  the 
opening  foliage,  they  knelt  on  the  fresh  green  sod,  and  poured 
out,  in  turn,  their  earnest  petitions  to  the  hearer  and  answerer 
of  prayer.  Both  dated  their  conversion  from  that  day.  Al- 
exander Patterson  went  shortly  afterward  to  reside  in  the 
neighboring  parish  of  Dairsie,  but  attended  regularly  on  the 
Sabbath  at  Kilmany  church.  His  friend,  Robert  Edie,  gener- 
ally conveyed  him  part  of  the  way  home.  About  one  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  road  along  which  they  traveled,  in  the 
thickly-screened  seclusion  of  a  close  plantation,  and  under  the 
shade  of  a  branching  fir-tree,  the  two  friends  found  a  quiet 
retreat,  where,  each  returning  Sabbath  evening,  the  eye  that 
seeth  in  secret,  looked  down  upon  these  two  youthful  disciples 
of  the  Saviour  on  their  knees,  and  for  an  hour  their  ardent 
prayers  alternately  ascended  to  the  throne  of  grace.  The 
practice  was  continued  for  years,  till  a  private  footpath  of 
their  own  had  been  opened  to  the  trysting-tree  ;  and  when, 
a  few  years  ago,  after  long  absence  on  the  part  of  both,  they 
met  at  Kilmany,  at  Mr.  Edie's  suggestion,  they  revisited  the 
spot,  and,  renewing  the  sacred  exercise,  offered  up  their  joint 
thanksgivings  to  that  God  who  had  kept  them  by  his  grace, 
and  in  their  separate  spheres  had  honored  each  of  them  with 
usefulness  in  the  church.  Mr.  Patterson  has  now  labored 
for  twenty-two  years  as  a  missionary  in  the  Canongate  of 
Edinburgh,  not  without  many  pleasing  evidences  that  his 
labors  have  been  blessed  ;  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
by  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  Bible  and  Missionary  Societies, 
through  means  of  Sabbath  Schools  and  prayer  meetings,  and 
by  the  light  of  a  guiding  and  consistent  example,  Mr.  Edie's 
life,  while  one  of  active  industry,  has  also  been  one  of  devoted 
christian  usefulness. 

Other  individual  instances  of  spiritual  benefit  derived  from 
Mr.  Chalmers's  ministrations,  it  would  have  been  a  pleasant 
task  to  record  ;  and  had  he  not  been  so  soon  removed  from 
Kilmany,   the   hopeful    appearances   which   were   presenting 


^T.    84  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  77 

themselves,  especially  among  the  young  who  attended  his 
Saturday  classes,  might  have  ripened  into  a  goodly  spiritual 
fruitage.  One  general  testimony,  however,  as  valuable, 
perhaps,  as  ever  minister  left  behind  him,  and  given  by  Mr. 
Chalmers  himself,  as  to  the  separate  effects  of  his  ministry  dur- 
ing the  two  periods  into  which,  spiritually  contemplated,  it  di- 
vided itself,  must  not  be  withheld. 

"  And  here,  I  cannot  but  record  the  effect  of  an  actual, 
though  undesigned  experiment,  which  I  prosecuted  for  up- 
ward of  twelve  years  among  you.  For  the  greater  part  of 
that  time,  I  could  expatiate  on  the  meanness  of  dishonesty, 
on  the  villainy  of  falsehood,  on  the  despicable  arts  of  cal- 
umny; in  a  word,  upon  all  those  deformities  of  character  which 
awaken  the  natural  indignation  of  the  human  heart  against 
the  pests  and  the  disturbers  of  human  society.  Now,  could 
I,  upon  the  strength  of  these  warm  expostulations,  have  got 
the  thief  to  give  up  his  stealing,  and  the  evil  speaker  his 
censoriousness,  and  the  liar  his  deviations  from  truth,  I  should 
have  felt  all  the  repose  of  one  who  had  gotten  his  ultimate 
object.  It  never  occurred  to  me  that  all  this  might  have 
been  done,  and  yet  the  soul  of  every  hearer  have  remained  in 
full  alienation  from  God  ;  and  that  even  could  I  have  estab- 
lished in  the  bosom  of  one  who  stole,  such  a  principle  of  ab- 
horrence at  the  meanness  of  dishonesty,  that  he  was  prevailed 
upon  to  steal  no  more,  he  might  still  have  retained  a  heart  as 
completely  unturned  to  God,  and  as  totally  unpossessed  by  a 
principle  of  love  to  him  as  before.  In  a  word,  though  I  might 
have  made  him  a  more  upright  and  honorable  man,  I  might 
have  left  him  as  destitute  of  the  essence  of  religious  principle 
as  ever.  But  the  interesting  fact  is,  that  during  the  whole  of 
that  period,  in  which  I  made  no  attempt  against  the  natural 
enmity  of  the  mind  to  God,  while  I  was  inattentive  to  the  way 
ia  which  this  enmity  is  dissolved,  even  by  the  free  offer  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  believing  acceptance  on  the  other,  of  the 
gospel  salvation,  while  Christ,  through  whose  blood  the  sinner, 
who  by  nature  stands  afar  off,  is  brought  near  to  the  heavenly 
Lawgiver  whom  he  has  offended,  was  scarcely  ever  spoken  of, 


78  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1814. 

or  spoken  of  in  such  a  way  as  stripped  Him  of  all  the  import- 
ance of  his  character  and  his  oflBces,  even  at  this  time  I  cer- 
tainly did  press  the  reformations  of  honor,  and  truth,  and 
integrity  among  my  people  ;  but  I  never  once  heard  of  any 
such  reformations  having  been  effected  among  them.  If  there 
was  anything  at  all  brought  about  in  this  way,  it  was  more 
than  ever  I  got  any  account  of.  I  am  not  sensible  that  all 
the  vehemence  with  which  I  urged  the  virtues  and  the  pro- 
prieties of  social  life,  had  the  weight  of  a  feather  on  the 
moral  habits  of  my  parishioners.  And  it  was  not  till  I  got 
impressed  by  the  utter  alienation  of  the  heart  in  all  its  desires 
and  affections  from  God  ;  it  was  not  till  reconciliation  to  Him 
became  the  distinct  and  the  prominent  object  of  my  ministe- 
rial exertions  ;  it  was  not  till  I  took  the  scriptural  way  of  lay- 
ing the  method  of  reconciliation  before  them  ;  it  was  not  till 
the  free  offer  of  forgiveness  through  the  blood  of  Christ  was 
urged  upon  their  acceptance,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  given  through 
the  channel  of  Christ's  mediatorship  to  all  who  ask  Him,  was 
set  before  them  as  the  unceasing  object  of  their  dependence 
and  their  prayers  ;  in  one  word,  it  was  not  till  the  contempla- 
tions of  my  people  were  turned  to  these  great  and  essential 
elements  in  the  business  of  a  soul  providing  for  its  interests 
with  God  and  the  concerns  of  its  eternity,  that  I  ever  heard 
of  any  of  those  subordinate  reformations  which  I  aforetime 
made  the  earnest  and  the  zealous,  but  I  am  afraid  at  the  same 
time,  the  ultimate  object  of  my  earlier  ministrations.  Ye  ser- 
vants, whose  scrupulous  fidelity  has  now  attracted  the  notice, 
and  drawn  forth  in  my  hearing  a  delightful  testimony  from 
your  masters,  what  mischief  you  would  have  done  had  your 
zeal  for  doctrines  and  sacraments  been  accompanied  by  the 
sloth  and  the  remissness,  and  what,  in  the  prevailing  tone  of 
moral  relaxation,  is  accounted  the  allowable  purloining  of  your 
earlier  days  !  But  a  sense  of  your  Heavenly  Master's  eye  has 
brought  another  influence  to  bear  upon  you  ;  and  while  you 
are  thus  striving  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  your  Saviour  in 
all  things,  you  may,  poor  as  you  are,  reclaim  the  great  ones 
of  the  land  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the  faith.     You  have  at 


^T.  84.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEBS.  79 

least  taug-ht  me,  that  to  preach  Christ  is  the  only  effective  way 
of  preaching  morality  in  all  its  branches;  and  out  of  your  hum- 
ble cottages  have  I  gathered  a  lesson,  which  I  pray  God  I  may 
be  enabled  to  carry,  with  all  its  simplicity,  into  a  wider  the- 
ater, and  to  bring  with  all  the  power  of  its  subduing  efficacy 
upon  the  vices  of  a  more  crowded  population.'  " 

In  the  midst  of  these  labors,  one  day,  while  he  was  preach- 
ing at  Bendochy,  in  Perthshire,  the  funeral  sermon  of  a  much 
valued  friend,  the  pastor  of  that  parish,  a  group  of  auditors 
attended  as  members  of  the  town  council  of  Glasgow  to  hear 
him,  as  one  who  had  been  named  among  them  for  the  Tron 
Church  of  that  city,  then  vacant.  Unawares  to  the  preacher, 
he  was  made  the  subject  of  a  criticism  destined  to  have  no 
little  influence  upon  many  of  the  best  years  of  his  life.  Such 
was  the  crowd  that  it  was  found  expedient,  as  the  day  was 
calm  and  beautiful,  to  take  out  one  of  the  windows  and  erect 
a  platform  against  the  sill,  from  which  the  preacher  could  be 
heard  by  the  congregation  without,  as  well  as  within  the 
building.  The  scene  is  thus  described  on  the  authority  of 
one  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  it.  "A  hum  in  the  crowd, 
and  a  melancholy  tolling  of  the  bell,  announced  the  approach 
of  the  preacher,  who  seated  himself  for  a  minute  or  two  in  an 
old  elbow-chair,  took  the  psalm-book  from  a  little  table  before 
him,  turned  hastily  over  a  few  of  the  leaves,  and  then  rose  in 
the  most  awkward  and  even  helpless  manner.  Before  he  read 
the  lines  which  were  to  be  sung,  his  large  and  apparently 
leaden  eyes  were  turned  toward  the  recent  grave,  with  a  look 
wildly  pathetic,  fraught  with  intense  and  indescribable  passion. 
The  psalm  was  read  with  no  very  promising  elocution ;  and 
while  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  were  singing  it,  he  sunk 
into  the  chair,  turned  seemingly  into  a  monumental  statue  of 
the  coldest  stone,  so  deadly  pale  was  his  large  broad  face  and 
forehead.  The  text  was  read  :  Deut.,  xxxii,  29,  '  0  that  they 
were  wise  ;  that  they  understood  this  ;  that  they  would  con- 
sider their  latter  end  !'  The  doctrinal  truth  which  he  meant 
to  inculcate  being  established  on  a  basis  of  reasoning  so  firm 


80  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMEKS.  1814- 

that  doubt  could  not  move  or  sophistry  shake  it,  he  bounded 
at  once  upon  the  structure  which  he  had  reared  ;  and  by  that 
inborn  and  unteachable  power  of  the  spirit,  which  nature  has 
reserved  for  the  chosen  of  her  sons,  and  which  shakes  off  all 
the  disadvantages  and  incumbrances  of  figure,  and  voice,  and 
language  as  easily  as  the  steed  shakes  the  thistle-down  from 
his  side,  carried  the  hearts  and  passions  of  all  who  heard 
him  with  irresistible  and  even  tremendous  sway.  '  It  strikes 
me,'  said  the  preacher,  and  as  the  words  were  spoken  there 
was  a  silence  among  the  living  almost  as  deep  as  that  which 
reigned  among  the  dead  who  lay  beneath,  *  It  strikes  me  as 
the  most  impressive  of  all  sentiments,  that  it  will  be  all  the 
same  a  hundred  years  after  this.  It  is  often  uttered  in  the 
form  of  a  proverb,  and  with  the  levitj'-  of  a  mind  that  is  not 
aware  of  its  importance.  A  hundred  years  after  this  !  Good 
heavens !  with  what  speed  and  with  what  certainty  will  those 
hundred  years  come  to  their  termination.  This  day  will  draw 
to  a  close,  and  a  number  of  days  make  up  one  revolution  of  the 
seasons.  Year  follows  year,  and  a  number  of  years  makes  up 
a  century.  These  little  intervals  of  time  accumulate  and  fill 
up  that  mighty  space  which  appears  to  the  fancy  so  big  and  so 
immeasurable.  The  hundred  years  will  come,  and  they  will 
see  out  the  wreck  of  whole  generations.  Every  living  thing 
that  now  moves  on  the  face  of  the  earth  will  disappear  from  it. 
The  infant  that  now  hangs  on  his  mother's  bosom  will  only  live 
in  the  remembrance  of  his  grandchildren.  The  scene  of  life 
and  of  intelligence  that  is  now  before  me  will  be  changed  into 
the  dark  and  loathsome  forms  of  corruption.  The  people  who 
now  hear  me  will  cease  to  be  spoken  of;  their  memory  will 
perish  from  the  face  of  the  country;  their  flesh  will  be  devoured 
with  worms  ;  the  dark  and  creeping  things  that  live  in  the  holes 
of  the  earth  will  feed  upon  their  bodies  ;  their  coffins  will  have 
mouldered  away,  and  their  bones  be  thrown  up  in  the  new- 
made  grave  ;  and  is  this  the  consummation  of  all  things  ?  Is 
this  the  final  end  and  issue  of  man  ?  Is  this  the  upshot  of  his 
busy  history  ?     Is  there  nothing  beyond  time  and  the  grave 


iET.    34.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMEKS.  81 

to  alleviate  the  gloomy  picture,  to  chase  away  these  dismal 
images  ?  Must  we  sleep  forever  in  the  dust,  and  bid  an  eter- 
nal adieu  to  the  light  of  heaven  ?' 

"  '  I  have  seen,'  adds  our  informant,  *  many  scenes,  and  I 
have  heard  many  eloquent  men,  but  this  I  have  never  seen 
equaled,  or  even  imitated.  It  was  not  learning,  it  was  not 
art ;  it  was  the  untaught  and  the  unencumbered  incantation  of 
genius,  the  mightiest  engine  of  which  the  world  can  boast.'  " 

After  various  unobserved  observations  and  representations, 
by  word  and  letter,  on  the  subject,  in  the  course  of  which  it 
was  suggested  to  him  to  visit  the  city  and  give  the  council  a 
chance  to  judge  of  his  abilities,  which  of  course,  he  decisively 
declined  to  do,  Mr.  Chalmers  was  elected  minister  of  the  Tron 
Church  of  Glasgow  on  the  25th  of  November,  1814. 

The  chief  obstacles  which  presented  themselves  to  his  re- 
moval, were  his  fears  as  to  the  amount  of  unprofessional  labor 
exacted  of  the  clergymen  of  Glasgow,  and  his  tender  attach- 
ment to  the  neighborhood  and  people  of  Kilmany.  The 
former,  long  courageous  effort  removed ;  the  latter,  never 
entirely  passed  away.  "  Looking  to  the  hills  which  bounded 
his  peaceful  valley,  and  waving  his  staff  to  them  as  if  in 
mournful  farewell,  he  said  to  a  friend,  who  was  walking 
by  his  side,  '  Ah,  my  dear  sir,  my  heart  is  wedded  to 
these  hills.'  Coming  back  to  his  old  parish,  more  than  twenty 
years  after  he  had  left  it,  he  exclaimed,  *  Oh,  there  was  more 
tearing  of  the  heart-strings  at  leaving  the  valley  of  Kilmany 
than  at  leaving  all  my  great  parish  at  Glasgow.'  " 

On  the  10th  of  December  he  intimated  his  acceptance  of  the 
appointment ;  but  did  not  remove  to  Glasgow  until  July  of  the 
following  year. 

"  For  some  Sabbaths  previous  to  the  departure  from  Kil- 
many, the  attendance  at  church  was  so  numerous,  that  one  of 
the  large  windows  beside  the  pulpit  was  taken  out,  that  Mr. 
Chalmers  might  address  at  once  the  in-door  and  out-door  con- 
gregation. The  great  crowd  of  strangers  which  had  assembled 
deprived,  to  some  extent,  his  closing  Sabbath  (July  9,  1815) 
of  the  character  which  he  would  have  liked  it  so  much  to  wear. 


82  LIFE    OF    DK.    ClIALMEKS.  1814. 

that  of  a  parting  of  affectionate  friends.  There  were  few, 
however,  even  among  the  strangers,  who  did  not  share  in  the 
emotions  of  the  occasion,  and  the  hearts  of  his  own  people 
were  dissolved  in  tenderness,  as  these  farewell  words  fell  upon 
their  ear : 

**  *  Choose  Christ,  then,  my  brethren,  choose  Him  as  the 
Captain  of  your  salvation.  Let  Him  enter  into  your  hearts  by 
faith,  and  let  Him  dwell  continually  there.  Cultivate  a  daily 
intercourse  and  a  growing  acquaintance  with  Him.  Oh,  you 
are  in  safe  company,  indeed,  when  your  fellowship  is  with 
Him  !  The  shield  of  His  protecting  mediatorship  is  ever  be- 
tween you  and  the  justice  of  God;  and  out  of  His  fullness 
there  goeth  a  constant  stream,  to  nourish,  and  to  animate,  and 
to  strengthen  every  believer.  Why  should  the  shifting  of 
human  instruments  so  oppress  and  so  discourage  you,  when 
He  is  your  willing  friend  ;  when  He  is  ever  present,  and  is  at 
all  times  in  readiness  ;  when  He,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever,  is  to  be  met  with  in  every  place  ;  and  while  His 
disciples  here,  giving  way  to  the  power  of  sight,  are  sorrowful, 
and  in  great  heaviness,  because  they  are  to  move  at  a  distance 
from  one  another,  He,  my  brethren,  He  has  His  eye  upon  all 
neighborhoods  and  all  countries,  and  will  at  length  gather  His 
disciples  into  one  eternal  family  !  With  such  a  Master,  let  us 
quit  ourselves  like  men.  With  the  magnificence  of  eternity 
before  us,  let  time,  with  all  its  fluctuations,  dwindle  into  its 
own  littleness.  If  God  is  pleased  to  spare  me,  I  trust  I  shall 
often  meet  with  you  in  person,  even  on  this  side  of  the  grave ; 
but  if  not,  let  us  often  meet  in  prayer  at  the  mercy-seat  of 
God.  While  we  occupy  different  places  on  earth,  let  our  mu- 
tual intercessions  for  each  other  go  to  one  place  in  Heaven. 
Let  the  Saviour  put  our  supplications  into  one  censer ;  and  be 
assured,  my  brethren,  that  after  the  dear  and  the  rauch-loved 
scenery  of  this  peaceful  vale  has  disappeared  from  my  eye,  the 
people  who  live  in  it  shall  retain  a  warm  and  ever-during  place 
in  my  memory ;  and  this  mortal  body  must  be  stretched  on 
the  bed  of  death,  ere  the  heart  which  now  animates  it  can 
resign  its  exercise  of  longing  after  you,  and  praying  for  you. 


JET.  85.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  83 

that  you  may  so  receive  Christ  Jesus,  and  so  walk  in  Him, 
and  so  hold  fast  the  things  you  have  gotten,  and  so  prove  that 
the  labor  I  have  had  among  you  has  not  been  in  vain,  that 
when  the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet  awakens  us,  these  eyes, 
which  are  now  bathed  in  tears,  may  open  upon  a  scene  of  eter- 
nal blessedness,  and  we,  my  brethren,  whom  the  Providence 
of  God  has  withdrawn  for  a  little  while  from  one  another,  may 
on  that  day  be  found  side  by  side  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
everlasting  throne.'  '* 


CHAPTER   VII. 

On  the  13tli  of  July,  1815,  Mr.  Chalmers  finally  left  Kil- 
many,  and  on  the  21st  of  the  same  month  was  regularly 
admitted  to  his  new  charge.  His  first  sermon  in  Glasgow  had 
been  preached  some  months  previously  before  the  society  of 
the  sons  of  the  Clergy,  on  Thursday,  the  30th  day  of  March. 
Among  the  vast  crowd,  which  had  congregated  on  the  occa- 
sion, a  young  student  from  Oxford  was  present,  whose  graphic 
pen,  at  a  somewhat  later  time,  delineating  various  prominent 
characters  of  Scotland,  drew  the  following  picture  of  the 
preacher : 

"  I  was  a  good  deal  surprised  and  perplexed  with  the  first 
glimpse  I  obtained  of  his  countenance,  for  the  light,  that 
streamed  faintly  upon  it  for  the  moment,  did  not  reveal  any- 
thing like  that  general  outline  of  feature  and  visage  for  which 
my  fancy  had,  by  some  strange  working  of  presentiment,  pre- 
pared me.  By-and-by,  however,  the  light  became  stronger, 
and  I  was  enabled  to  study  the  minutiae  of  his  face  pretty 
leisurely,  while  he  leaned  forward  and  read  aloud  the  words 
of  the  Psalm,  for  that  is  always  done  in  Scotland,  not  by  the 
clerk,  but  the  clergyman  himself.  At  first  sight,  no  doubt,  his 
face  is  a  coarse  one,  but  a  mysterious  kind  of  meaning  breathes 
from  every  part  of  it,  that  such  as  have  eyes  to  see,  cannot  be 
long  without  discovering.  It  is  very  pale,  and  the  large,  half- 
closed  eyelids  have  a  certain  drooping  melancholy  weight  about 
them,  which  interested  me  very  much,  I  understood  not  why. 
The  lips,  too,  are  singularly  pensive  in  their  mode  of  falling 
down  at  the  sides,  although  there  is  no  want  of  richness  and 
vigor  in  their  central  fullness  of  curve.  The  upper  lip,  from 
the  nose  downward,  is  separated  by  a  very  deep  line,  which 
gives  a  sort  of  leonine  firmness  of  expression  to  all  the  lower 
part  of  the  face.  The  cheeks  are  square  and  strong,  in  texture 
like  pieces  of  marble,  with  the  cheek-bones  very  broad  and 
(84) 


^T.    85.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  85 

prominent.  The  eyes  themselves  are  light  in  color,  and  have 
a  strange,  dreamy  heaviness,  that  conveys  any  idea  rather  than 
that  of  dullness,  but  which  contrasts  in  a  wonderful  manner 
with  the  dazzling,  watery  glare  they  exhibit  when  expanded 
in  their  sockets,  and  illuminated  into  all  their  flame  and  fervor 
in  some  moment  of  high  entranced  enthusiasm.  But  the 
shape  of  the  forehead,  is,  perhaps,  the  most  singular  part  of 
the  whole  visage  ;  and,  indeed,  it  presents  a  mixture  so  very 
singular,  of  forms  commonly  exhibited  only  in  the  widest 
separation,  that  it  is  no  wonder  I  should  have  required  some 
little  time  to  comprehend  the  meaning  of  it.  In  the  first 
place,  it  is,  without  exception,  the  most  marked  mathematical 
forehead  I  ever  met  with  —  being  far  wider  across  the  eye- 
brows than  either  Mr.  Playfair's  or  Mr.  Leslie's  —  and  having 
the  eyebrows  themselves  lifted  up  at  their  exterior  ends  quite 
out  of  the  usual  line,  a  peculiarity  which  Spurzheim  had 
remarked  in  the  countenances  of  almost  all  the  great  mathe- 
matical or  calculating  geniuses — such,  for  example,  if  I  rightly 
remember,  as  Sir  Isaac  Newton  himself,  Kaestener,  Euler, 
and  many  others.  Immediately  above  the  extraordinary 
breadth  of  this  region,  which,  in  the  heads  of  most  mathe- 
matical persons,  is  surmounted  by  no  fine  points  of  organiza- 
tion whatever,  immediately  above  this,  in  the  forehead,  there 
is  an  arch  of  imagination,  carrying  out  the  summit  boldly 
and  roundly,  in  a  style  to  which  the  heads  of  very  few  poets 
present  anything  comparable,  while  over  this  again,  there  is 
a  grand  apex  of  high  and  solemn  veneration  and  love,  such 
as  might  have  graced  the  bust  of  Plato  himself,  and  such  as 
in  living  men  I  have  never  beheld  equaled  in  any  but  the 
majestic  head  of  Canova.  The  whole  is  edged  with  a  few  crisp 
dark  locks,  which  stand  forth  boldly,  and  afford  a  fine  relief 

to  the  deathlike  paleness  of  those  massive  temples 

Of  all  human  compositions  there  is  none  surely  which  loses 
so  much  as  a  sermon  does  when  it  is  made  to  address  itself 
to  the  eye  of  a  solitary  student  in  his  closet,  and  not  to  the 
thrilling  ears  of  a  mighty  mingled  congregation,  through  the 
very  voice  which  nature  has   enriched  with  notes  more  ex- 


86  LIFE  OF  DR.  CHALMERS. 


1815. 


pressive  than  words  can  ever  be  of  the  meanings  and  feehngs 
of  its  author.  Neither,  perhaps,  did  the  world  ever  possess 
any  orator  whose  minutest  peculiarities  of  gesture  and  voice 
have  more  power  in  increasing  the  effect  of  what  he  says  — 
whose  delivery,  in  other  words,  is  the  first,  and  the  second^ 
and  the  third  excellence  of  his  oratory  —  more  truly  than  is 
that  of  Dr.  Chalmers.  And  yet  were  the  spirit  of  the  man 
less  gifted  than  it  is,  there  is  no  question  these,  his:  lesser 
peculiarities,  would  never  have  been  numbered  among  his 
points  of  excellence.  His  voice  is  neither  strong  nor  melo- 
dious, his  gestures  are  neither  easy  nor  graceful  ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  extremely  rude  and  awkward  ;  his  pronunciation 
is  not  only  broadly  national,  but  broadly  provincial,  distort- 
ing almost  every  word  he  utters  into  some  barbarous  novelty, 
which,  had  his  hearer  leisure  to  think  of  such  things,  might 
he  productive  of  an  effect  at  once  ludicrous  and  offensive  in 
a  singular  degree.  But,  of  a  truth,  these  are  things  which 
no  listener  can  attend  to  while  this  great  preacher  stands 
before  him,  armed  with  all  the  weapons  of  the  most  com- 
manding eloquence,  and  swaying  all  around  him  with  its 
imperial  rule.  At  first,  indeed,  there  is  nothing  to  make 
one  suspect  what  riches  are  in  store.  He  commences  in  a 
low,  drawling  key,  which  has  not  even  the  merit  of  being 
solemn,  and  advances  from  sentence  to  sentence,  and  from 
paragraph  to  paragraph,  while  you  seek  in  vain  to  catch  a 
single  echo  that  gives  promise  of  that  which  is  to  come. 
There  is,  on  the  contrary,  an  appearance  of  constraint  about 
him  that  affects  and  distresses  you.  You  are  afraid  that 
his  breast  is  weak,  and  that  even  the  slight  exertion  he  makes 
may  be  too  much  for  it.  But  then,  with  what  tenfold  rich- 
ness does  this  dim  preliminary  curtain  make  the  glories  of 
his  eloquence  to  shine  forth,  when  the  heated  spirit  at  length 
shakes  from  it  its  chill  confining  fetters,  and  bursts  out  elate 
and  rejoicing  in  the  full  splendor  of  its  disimprisoned  wings. 

I  have  heard  many  men  deliver  sermons  far  better 

arranged  in  regard  to  argument,  and  have  heard  very  many 
deliver   sermons  far  more  uniform  in  elegance  both  of  con- 


JET.    35.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  8? 

ception  and  of  style  ;  but,  most  unquestionably,  I  have  never 
heard,  either  in  England  or  Scotland,  or  in  any  other  country, 
any  preacher  whose  eloquence  is  capable  of  producing  an 
effect  so  strong  and  irresistible  as  his. 

"  Mr.  Chalmers's  first  sermon  at  Glasgow  was  chiefly  oc- 
cupied with  the  enforcement  and  illustration  of  principles 
apphcable  alike  to  all  forms  and  varieties  of  christian  char- 
ity. It  contained,  in  embryo,  his  whole  theory  as  to  the 
proper  treatment  of  pauperism,  and  is  remarkable  thus  as 
indicating  how  firmly  established  in  his  mind  that  theory 
had  become,  even  before  his  labors  as  a  city  clergyman  had 
commenced." 

Leaving  his  family  for  the  summer  in  Anstruther,  he  entered 
upon  his  residence  in  Glasgow  as  a  solitary  lodger,  and  that 
among  new  scenes,  strange  faces,  and  a  field  of  labor  whose 
bounds  he  had  yet  to  ascertain,  and  which,  for  the  present, 
seemed  to  be  boundless,  occasioned  him  no  very  pleasant  first 
impressions  of  the  city.  But  the  state  of  his  spirits  was  not 
permitted  to  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  which  he 
entered  upon  with  the  utmost  zeal  and  singleness  of  purpose 
to  the  glory  of  God.  Week  after  week  sustained  and  height- 
ened the  effect  of  his  first  appearance,  and  he  soon  Avon  the 
hearts  as  well  as  the  admiration  of  his  people. 

On  tlie  16th  of  September,  having  removed  his  family  to 
Glasgow,  the  solitary  lodgings  were  exchanged  for  the  fireside 
of  home.  But  his  warmly  affectionate  nature  had  not  so  long 
mingled  with  his  new  congregation  without  finding  objects  of 
its  attachment.  Ere  the  first  month  of  his  residence  in  Glas- 
gow had  gone  by,  he  had  become  attached  to  one  young  man 
"  by  ties  of  such  peculiar  strength  and  tenderness,  as  threw 
over  their  brief  earthly  intercourse  all  the  air  of  a  spiritual  ro- 
mance. Mr.  Thomas  Smith,  the  son  of  a  well  known  Glasgow 
publisher,  was  qualifying  himself  for  the  profession  of  a  writer 
or  attorney.  His  family  having  interested  themselves  in  Mr. 
Chalmers's  appointment,  he  was  early  introduced  to  the  notice 
of  his  new  minister,  and  occasionally  invited  to  accompany 
him  in  his   daily  walk  or  ride.     His   intellectual  accomplish- 


88  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1815. 

ments,  his  refined  taste,  his  gentle  bearing,  his  pure  and  aspir- 
ing aims,  soon  won  Mr.  Chalmers's  heart.  But  what  gave  him 
a  still  stronger  hold  upon  that  heart  tlian  any  personal  endow- 
ment, was  his  being,  so  far  as  was  known  to  Mr.  Chalmers, 
the  first-fruits  spiritually  of  his  ministry  in  Glasgow.  As  if  all 
those  afifections,  which,  wrenched  from  their  old  objects,  were 
in  search  of  new  ones,  had  suddenly  concentrated  on  him,  he 
became  the  object  of  an  attachment  which,  in  the  brief  entries 
of  a  private  journal,  now  reduced  to  the  ordinary  measure  of 
a  single  line  for  each  succeeding  day,  vents  itself  in  such  ex- 
pressions as  the  following :  '  Called  on  Mr.  Thomas  Smith  ;  0 
God,  purify,  and  christianize,  and  give  salutary  effect  to  my 
regard  for  him.'  *  Had  long  walks  and  conversations  with  T. 
S.  0  my  God,  save  me  from  all  that  is  idolatrous  in  my  re- 
gard for  him  !'  The  occasional  soon  turned  into  daily  inter- 
course, a  trysting-place  being  appointed  on  the  banks  of  the 
Monkland  Canal,  where  each  day,  at  a  set  hour,  they  met. 
And  the  general  conversation  of  ordinary  friendship  soon 
flovred  in  that  new  channel  into  which  it  was  directed  by 
a  heart  yearning  for  the  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  of  its 
object.  Erelong,  close  and  affectionate  as  it  was,  the  out- 
door intercourse  was  not  enough.  There  were  meetings 
beside,  for  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  for  prayer  ;  and 
great  as  were  the  efforts  and  fatigues  of  the  Tron  Church 
pulpit,  an  hour  each  Sabbath  evening  was  set  apart  for  con- 
joined devotion." 

When  Mr.  Chalmers  was  in  the  city,  nothing  was  suffered 
to  interfere  with  those  daily  meetings.  If  the  weather  was 
unfavorable  for  walking,  they  met  at  one  or  other  of  their 
houses  :  and  when  a  week  at  Blochairn  or  Kilmardinny  broke 
in  upon  the  accustomed  fellowship,  an  almost  daily  interchange 
of  letters  took  place,  occasioning  a  correspondence  in  which 
the  questions  of  election  and  vows,  and  the  propriety  of  attend- 
ing public  assemblies  for  dancing,  were  discussed.  "Step  by 
step  the  christian  minister  leads  along  the  youthful  and  beloved 
disciple  —  thrown  once  or  twice  into  anxiety  which  breaks  at 
last  into  exulting  joy  as  he  discerns  the  clear  and  unmistakable 


JET.    85.  LIFE   OF   DB.    CHALMERS.  89 

tokens  of  a  true  and  firm  and  advancing  faith  in  the  Redeemer." 
If  sickness  prevented  one  or  the  other  from  leaving  his  room,  that 
sick-room  became  the  place  of  meeting ;  and  if  business  inter- 
vened the  intervals  of  business  were  seized  to  keep  up  their  inter- 
course by  the  pen.  The  tone  of  those  thoughts  which  led  them 
to  take  so  much  pleasure  in  each  other's  society  may  be  judged 
of  by  a  few  extracts.  The  first  is  from  a  letter  written  by  Mr. 
Chalmers  from  Kilmardinny,  Jan.  6th,  1816. 

"  You  complain  of  the  turmoil  of  business.  In  as  far  as 
it  takes  you  away  from  the  more  congenial  exercise  of  study 
or  prayer  or  religious  contemplation,  I  can  conceive,  my  dear 
sir,  that  it  might  be  a  matter  of  violent  dislike  to  you.  But 
remember  that  this  is  not  of  your  own  voluntary  adoption.  In 
your  present  circumstances,  business  is  laid  upon  you  by 
another,  and  you  are  acquitting  yourself  of  your  duty  to  Him 
when  you  are  giving  your  time  and  your  attention  to  it.  I  can 
conceive  a  man  who  felt  more  happiness  in  the  duties  of  the 
closet  than  in  those  of  society,  to  be  making  a  sacrifice  of  prin- 
ciple to  inclination  in  the  very  midst  of  religious  exercises.  Do 
feel  that  you  are  religiously  employed  when  you  are  giving 
your  faithful  attention  to  the  matters  of  the  office  ;  and  instead 
of  thinking  that  religion  is  a  kind  of  secret  indulgence,  to  be 
snatched  by  a  kind  of  stealth  from  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life, 
do  make  a  study  of  spreading  religion  over  all  your  daily  path, 
and  then  will  you  realize  the  habit  of  walking  before  God  all 
the  day  long,  of  doing  all  things  to  His  glory."  ' 

Mr.  Smith's  health  was  delicate,  and  toward  the  close  of 
January  an  illness  which  did  not  for  some  weeks  stop  the 
forenoon  interviews,  occasionally  prevented  him  from  going  to 
Mr.  Chalmers's  residence  on  the  Sabbath  evenings.  On  one 
of  those  occasions  he  received  from  his  friend  a  letter  present- 
ing some  opinions  as  to  what  should  be  the  subject  of  their 
Sabbath  conversations,  advancing  that  it  should  not  treat  of 
religion  in  an  argumentative  way  ;  but  as  an  aflfair  of  the  heart 
and  conscience,  continuing  thus  : 

**  Agreeably  to  this  I  shall  not  take  up  the  remainder  of 
time  with  any  topic  of  observation  whatever,  but  reco' 
8 


90  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1816. 

that  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  often  "wrote  his  prayers,  and  found 
this  a  more  powerfully  devotional  exercise  than  if  he  had  said 
them,  I  entreat  my  dear  friend's  indulgence  if  I  do  the  same 
at  present ;  and  as  a  blessing  on  that  tender  intimacy  to  which 
God,  who  turneth  the  heart  of  man  whithersoever  He  will,  has 
turned  our  hearts,  is  the  great  burden  of  my  present  aspira- 
tion to  heaven,  I  send  it  to  you,  that  you  may,  if  you  approve, 
join  in  it,  and  that  the  promise  may  be  realized  in  us,  that  if 
two  shall  agree  touching  anything  they  shall  ask  it  shall  be 
done  unto  them. 

"  0  God,  do  Thou  look  propitiously  on  our  friendship.  Do 
Thou  purify  it  from  all  that  is  base,  and  sordid,  and  earthly. 
May  it  be  altogether  subordinated  to  the  love  of  Thee.  May 
it  be  the  instrument  of  great  good  to  each  of  our  souls.  May 
it  sweeten  the  path  of  our  worldly  pilgrimage  ;  and  after  death 
has  divided  us  for  a  season,  may  it  find  its  final  blessedness 
and  consummation  at  the  right  hand  of  Thine  everlasting 
throne. 

*'  We  place  ourselves  before  Thee  as  the  children  of  error. 
0  grant  that  in  Thy  light  w^e  may  clearly  see  light ;  for  this 
purpose  let  our  eye  be  single.  Let  our  intention  to  please 
Thee  in  all  things  be  honest.  With  the  childlike  purpose  of 
being  altogether  what  Thou  wouldst  have  us  to  be,  may  we 
place  ourselves  before  Thy  Bible,  that  we  may  draw  our  every 
lesson,  and  our  every  comfort  out  of  it.  0  that  Thy  Spirit 
may  preside  over  our  daily  reading  of  Thy  word,  and  that  the 
word  of  our  blessed  Saviour  may  dwell  in  us  richly  in  all 
wisdom. 

"  0  Save  us  from  the  deceitfulness  of  this  world.  Forbid 
that  any  one  of  its  pleasures  should  sway  us  aside  from  the 
path  of  entire  devotedness  to  Thee.  Give  us  to  be  vigilant, 
and  cautious,  and  fearful.  May  we  think  of  Thine  eye  at  all 
times  upon  us  ;  and  may  the  thought  make  us  to  tremble  at 
the  slightest  departure  from  that  narrow  way  of  sanctification 
which  leads  to  the  house  of  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

"We  desire  to  honor  the  Son  even  as  we  honor  the  Father. 
We  act  in  the  presumption  of  our  hearts  when  we  think  of 


^T.  35  LIFE    OF    DB.    CHALMEKS.  91 

placing  ourselves  before  Thee  in  our  own  righteousness.  Draw 
us  to  Christ.  Make  Him  all  our  desire  and  all  our  salvation. 
Give  remission  of  sins  out  of  His  blood.  Give  strength  out 
of  His  fullness  ;  and  crowned  with  all  might,  may  we  not  only 
be  fellow-helpers  to  each  other,  but  may  the  work  of  turning 
sons  and  daughters  unto  righteousness  prosper  in  our  hands. 
All  we  ask  is  for  the  sake  of  Thy  Son  and  our  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ.     Amen. 

"  By  the  end  of  February  Mr.  Smith's  illness  had  assumed 
a  more  alarming  aspect — not  yet  confining  him  entirely  to  the 
house,  but  exciting  the  darkest  apprehensions  that  consump- 
tion had  begun  its  fatal  work." 

Anxiety  now  fanned  affection  ;  and  not  content  with  visits 
almost  daily,  frequent  letters  reminded  the  invalid  of  the 
strong  attachment  of  his  friend  in  Christ.  Thus  Mr.  Chalmers 
writes  on  the  22d  of  February  :  "  It  is  remarkable,  that  when 
all  taste  for  other  employment  has  abandoned  me,  I  still  find 
relief  in  the  work  of  unbosoming  myself  to  you.  I  can  assure 
you  that  frequent  and  friendly  conversation  with  you,  ever 
rising  to  higher  degrees  of  Christian  faith  and  purity  and  ele- 
vation, is  a  mighty  ingredient  with  me  of  this  world's  happiness. 
May  God  turn  this  taste  to  such  an  account  as  that  a  happiness 
so  mingled,  and  so  imperfect,  and  lying  so  open  to  interruption 
from  the  fearfulness  of  each  of  the  parties  in  this  dark  scene 
of  existence,  may,  after  death  has  suspended  it,  reappear  in  a 
brighter  and  more  enduring  scene,  and  be  fed  with  its  imme- 
diate supplies  from  the  throne  of  that  God  who  will  stand 
revealed  to  the  pure  in  heart,  and  will  dispense  a  blessedness 
which  knows  no  alloy  and  shall  experience  no  termination.  I 
have  not  yet  had  heart  either  for  my  chapter  or  my  prayer, 
but  I  trust  that  God  will  be  present  with  me  now  that  I  am 
going  to  them.  I  shall  pray  for  you,  I  trust,  with  a  Christian 
tenderness." 

■  In  a  letter  of  the  next  day  he  writes  :  "  My  heort  is  greatly 
enlarged  toward  you,  and  there  is  not  a  more  congenial  exercise 
for  it  at  this  moment  than  to  pour  it  out  before  my  high  and 
my  heavenly  Witness  in  the  fervency  of  prayer,  that  He  will 


92  LIB^K    OF    DK.    CHALMEJiS.  1816. 

cause  you  to  abound  more  and  more — that  He  will  keep  up 
and  increase  the  supplies  of  that  purifying  influence  by  which 
you  have  hitherto  been  preserved  from  falling — that  He  will 
bless  the  common  tenderness  which  fills  each  of  our  hearts 
and  knits  us  together  in  a  friendship  far  more  endearing  than 
any  I  ever  before  experienced — that  He  will  Christianize  the 
whole  of  this  friendship,  and  direct  it  to  the  love  of  himself, 
and  make  it  the  instrument  of  a  growing  knowledge  of,  and 
attachment  to,  His  sacred  word,  and  render  us  wise  unto  salva- 
tion, reducing  us  to  the  lowliness  of  little  children,  and  making 
us  to  derive  all  our  hopes  of  acceptance  from  the  merits  of  His 
Son,  and  all  our  progress  in  sanctification  from  that  kind  and 
free  Spirit,  which  will  never  be  refused  to  our  humble,  earnest, 
and  persevering  prayers." 

Again  on  Feb.  26th:  ''Will  you  forgive  me,  my  excellent 
and  aspiring  fellow- Christian,  if  I  venture  to  state  one  point  in 
which  we  both  are  deficient,  and  have  much  before  us.  We 
are  not  yet  sufficiently  humbled  into  the  attitude  of  dependence 
on  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  do  not  yet  bow  with  enough  of 
veneration  at  the  name  of  Christ  for  sanctification.  There  is 
still  a  very  strong  mixture  of  self-sufficiency  and  self-depend- 
ence in  our  attempts  at  the  service  of  God.  I  speak  my  own 
intimate  experience  when  I  say  that,  as  the  result  of  all  this 
presumption,  I  feel  as  if  I  had  yet  done  nothing.  I  can  talk, 
and  be  impressed,  and  hold  sweet  counsel  with  you ;  but  in 
the  scene  of  trial  I  am  humbled  by  my  forgetful ness  of  God, 
by  my  want  of  delight  in  the  doing  of  His  commandments,  by 
the  barrenness  of  all  my  affections,  by  my  enslavement  to  the 
influences  of  earth  and  of  time,  by  my  love  to  the  creature, 
by  my  darkness,  and  hardness,  and  insensibility  as  to  the  great 
matters  of  the  city  that  hath  foundations,  of  the  new  heavens 
and  the  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness. 

**  In  these  circumstances,  let  us  flee  for  refuge  to  the  hope 
set  before  us  in  the  gospel.  Let  us  keep  closer  by  Christ  than 
we  have  ever  yet  done.  Let  us  live  a  life  of  faith  on  the  Son 
of  God.  Let  us  crucify  all  our  earthly  aff"ections,  and  by  the 
Spirit  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  that  we  may  live." 


MT.    36.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  93 

**  March  opened  with  brightening  prospects  of  recovery,  but 
closed  amid  greater  darkness  and  uncertainty  than  ever.  On 
Sabbath  the  24th,  Mr.  Chalmers  was  to  preach  before  the 
magistrates  of  the  city.  Excited  groups  of  expectant  auditors 
were  already  hurrying  along  the  Trongate,  hastening  to  secure 
their  places  in  the  church  ;  and  it  was  within  half-an-hour  of 
the  time  when  the  bell  was  to  summon  the  preacher  into  the 
crowded  sanctuary,  that  he  sat  down  and  penned  the  following 
lines  : 

"  I  cannot  resist  the  opportunity  of  Mrs.  C,  who  goes  to 
inquire  about  you.  May  this  be  a  precious  Sabbath  to  you. 
If  languid  and  weak,  and  unable  to  put  forth  much  strength 
in  the  work  of  drawing  near  to  God,  may  He  put  forth  the 
strength  of  His  resistless  arm,  and  draw  near  unto  you.  May 
He  benignantly  reveal  Himself  to  you  as  your  gracious  God 
and  reconciled  Father  in  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Oh  !  may 
the  consoling  truths  of  the  gospel  be  felt  by  you,  and  rejoiced 
in ;  and  may  you  know  what  it  is  to  have  great  peace  and 
great  joy  in  believing  on  Him  who  poured  out  His  whole  soul 
unto  the  death  for  you.  Let  Christ  be  on  the  foreground  of  all 
your  religious  contemplations.  Feel  that  you  are  safely 
shielded  from  the  wrath  of  God  in  the  better  righteousness  of 
Him  who  yielded  for  you  a  pure  and  spotless  obedience  ;  and 
never,  never  let  go  your  mild,  and  pleasing,  and  tender,  and 
confiding  impressions  of  all  that  love  which  the  kind  and  will- 
ing Saviour  bears  to  you.  You  may  have  much  pain  and 
weakness  :  look  on  it  all  as  coming  from  God.  Feel  yourself 
in  His  hand,  my  dearest  friend,  and  this  feeling  will  temper  all 
your  sufferings,  and  sweeten  them  all.  I  do  God  great  injus- 
tice, for  I  feel  that  I  do  not  rise  to  an  adequate  conception  of 
His  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy.  0  may  this  sweet 
assurance  of  God  be  more  quietly  and  firmly  established  in 
your  heart  every  day,  and  on  this  day  may  there  be  much  of 
the  comfort  and  tranquillity  of  Heaven's  best  influences  to 
make  you  tranquil  and  happy." 

After  morning  service  Mr.  Chalmers  visited  the  sick-room 
of  his  friend.     In  the  afternoon  he  delivered  before  a  vast 


94  LIFE   OF    DE.    CHALMERS.  1816. 

assembly  the  brilliant  discourse  on  the  restlessness  of  human 
ambition ;  but  neither  excitement  nor  fatigue  could  shut  out 
from  his  heart  the  predominant  anxiety,  as  appears  from  this 
note  dispatched  on  the  same  evening  : 

**  Six,  p.  M. — Tell  me  by  the  servant  verbally  how  you  are. 
May  the  everlasting  arms  be  round  about  and  underneath  you. 
May  you  have  much  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  May 
you,  throughout  all  the  varieties  of  your  condition,  be  enabled 
to  display  the  triumphs  of  faith ;  and  however  you  are,  may 
the  blessed  assurance  of  your  reconciled  God  ever  be  present 
in  your  heart  to  strengthen  and  to  sustain  you.  My  very  dear 
sir,  yours,  with  much  regard,  "  Thomas  Chalmers." 

•'  Not  unfrequently  Mr.  Chalmers  took  his  manuscript  over 
with  him  to  Stockwell,  and  carried  on  the  composition  of  his 
sermon  in  the  sick-room.  A  friend  who  one  day  found  him  so 
employed,  expressed  his  wonder  that  he  could  compose  in  such 
a  situation.  *Ah !  my  dear  sir,'  said  Mr.  Chalmers,  casting  a 
look  of  profound  and  inexpressible  sympathy  toward  the  suf- 
ferer, '  there  is  much  in  mere  juxtaposition  with  so  interesting 
an  object.' 

"  The  sacrament  was  now  close  at  hand,  and  those  evening 
hours  which  Mr.  Chalmers  had  been  accustomed  to  spend  with 
his  friend,  now  so  weak  and  apparently  dying,  had  to  be  de- 
voted to  the  examination  of  intending  communicants ;  but 
snatching  intervals  which  few  ministers  either  would  or  could 
so  use,  he  sustained  the  intercourse." 

In  the  month  of  April,  Mr.  Smith's  health  appeared  to  be  re- 
covering, and  Mr.  Clialmers  sought  relief  from  the  fatigue  of  his 
excessive  labors,  in  an  excursion  into  his  native  county,  during 
which,  journal  letters  were  addressed  to  his  friend  for  his 
amusement  and  instruction.  Our  limits  preclude  all  but  a 
single  specimen : 

"April  22c/,  1816. — Let  Mrs.  Chalmers  know  that  I  was 
delighted  to  see  the  first  man  from  Kilmany  parish  I  had  seen 
for  nine  months,  that  is,  Mr.  Anderson,  of  Star — that  old  Mr 


^T.  35.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  95 

C of  Rathillet,  is  dying — that  I  walked  from  Kirkaldy  to 


Duniface,  about  eight  miles,  on  Saturday  afternoon — that  I 
there  got  a  horse,  which  carried  me  forward  to  Pilmuir — that 
I  have  been  enjoying  myself  on  the  verge  of  a  most  beautiful 
landscape,  and,  what  is  still  more  exquisite,  that  in  Mr.  For- 
tune's family  here  I  have  revived  an  early  friendship,  and  am 
delighted  with  all  that  heart  and  kindness,  and  aspiring  piety, 
in  the  bosom  of  which  I  have  been  reposing — that  I  did  not 
go  to  the  church  at  Largo,  but  that  I  did  what  I  am  not  sorry 
for  having  done,  gave  a  service  in  the  house  to  about  twenty- 
five  people  :  and  she  will  be  much  interested  to  know  that  Miss 
Robina  Coutts,  who  is  on  a  visit  to  her  grandfather,  was  among 
my  auditors 

"  I  did  not  carry  with  me  here  the  book  I  brought  from 
Glasgow,  but  trusted  my  reading  to  such  as  I  could  find  when 
I  came,  and  the  one  I  fell  upon  was  the  English  Prayer  Book, 
with  which  I  was  greatly  refreshed  and  edified  all  yesterday. 
It  will  determine  me,  I  think,  when  I  get  a  church  so  cool  that 
I  can  afford  to  prolong  the  service  a  little,  to  have  a  great  deal 
more  reading  of  the  Bible  introduced  into  my  public  ministra- 
tions. The  Prayers  and — with  the  exception  of  two  flaws,  one 
in  the  Burial  and  the  other  in  the  Baptismal  service — all  the 
other  devout  compositions  are  very  admirable,  and  I  do  regard 
the  whole  composition  as  an  interesting  monument  of  the  piety 
and  sound  intelligent  Christianity  of  better  days. 

"  The  weather  was  milder  yesterday,  and  I  never  felt  a 
more  delicious  calm  than  when  I  walked  a  little  at  the  front  of 
the  house,  and  my  eye  rested  on  the  beauteous  perspective 
before  me,  and  the  whole  amplitude  of  the  Forth  stretched 
majestically  in  front  and  on  each  side  of  me,  and  the  interven- 
ing country  which  lay  between  the  rising  ground  on  which  my 
hospitable  lodging  stands  and  the  shore,  spread  itself  around 
me  in  all  the  garniture  of  fields,  and  spires,  and  woods,  and 
farms,  and  villages,  and  the  sun  threw  its  unbounded  splendors 
over  the  whole  of  this  charming  panorama,  and  the  quietness 
of  the  Sabbath  lent  an  association  of  inexpressible  delight  to 
these  scenes  of  my  nativity  and  youthful  remembrance.     If 


96  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMEES.  1816. 

there  be  so  much  beauty  on  the  face  of  this  dark  and  disor- 
dered world,  how  much  may  we  look  for  in  that  earth  and 
those  heavens  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  !" 

During  Mr.  Chalmers's  absence,  his  friend  died,  and  he 
returned  in  time  only  to  preach  his  funeral  sermon.  He  re- 
ceived, as  a  last  memento,  a  ring,  with  some  of  Mr.  Smith's 
hair,  which  was  fondly  treasured  down  to  old  age.  It  was 
even  resumed,  after  being  laid  aside  for  years,  and  worn  by 
him  for  a  mouth,  "  during  the  year  which  preceded  his  own 
death." 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  on  Mr. 
Chalmers  by  the  University  of  Glasgow,  on  the  21st  of  Febru- 
ary, 1816,  and  soon  afterward  he  was  elected,  by  the  presby- 
tery of  Glasgow,  one  of  its  representatives  to  the  ensuing  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  in  which  capacity  he  willingly  served,  on  ac- 
count of  an  impending  discussion,  in  which  he  particularly 
desired  to  take  a  part. 

In  view  of  a  fundamental  law  of  the  Scottish  Establishment, 
requiring  every  minister  to  reside  within  his  parish,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1814,  prohibited  the  holding  of  a  country 
living  in  conjunction  with  a  professor's  chair.  The  act  was 
simply  declaratory  ;  whereby  a  definite  application  was  made 
of  an  old  law.  The  friends  of  pluralities  endeavored  to  con- 
vince the  church  that  it  was  a  new  act  of  legislation,  and 
therefore  of  no  force,  as  the  rule  had  not  been  complied  with, 
which  requires  that,  in  such  cases,  the  presbyteries  must  be 
consulted  and  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  them  obtained  ;  and 
so  successful  were  their  efforts,  that  no  less  than  thirty  over- 
tures were  transmitted  from  presbyteries  praying  that  for  the 
reason  assigned,  the  resolution  of  1814  should  be  set  aside. 
Dr.  Chalmers,  on  the  other  hand,  from  his  experience  in  Glas- 
gow, deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  onerousness  of  a 
city  charge,  was  prepared  to  combat  not  only  one,  but  all  kinds 
of  pluralities.  "  The  General  Assembly  met  in  Edinburgh,  on 
Friday,  17th  May,  1816.  On  the  forenoon  of  that  day,  Dr. 
Chalmers  preached  in  St.  Andrew's  church,  before  the  society 
of  the  Sons  of  the  Clergy,  the  same  sermon  which  he  had 


JST.  5Q.  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  97 

delivered  before  a  similar  institution  in  Glasgow.  *  Probably  no 
congregation,  since  the  days  of  Massillon,'  such  was  the  testi- 
mony of  an  auditor,  '  ever  had  their  attention  more  completely 
fixed,  their  understandings  more  enlightened,  their  passions 
more  agitated,  and  hearts  more  improved.  When,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  discourse.  Dr.  Chalmers  drew  the  picture  of  a 
clergyman's  family  leaving  the  place  of  their  nativity  and  long 
residence,  we  observed  many  an  eye  suffused  with  tears.'  " 

The  question  of  pluralities  came  up  on  the  22d.  Intense 
interest  was  manifested  in  the  debate,  which,  though  main- 
tained by  both  parties  with  great  spirit  and  ability,  for  more 
than  twelve  hours,  gave  occasion  to  not  one  unpleasant  per- 
sonality or  unseemly  word.  The  substance  of  Dr.  Chalmers's 
speech  was  thus  reported  in  a  publication  of  that  time  : 

"  The  Reverend  Doctor  then  contended,  that  if  it  was  neces- 
sary to  prevent  a  country  minister  from  holding  a  professor- 
ship on  account  of  his  having  enough  to  do  in  discharging  the 
duties  of  his  office  without  it,  a  fortiori,  was  it  proper  to  prevent 
such  union  in  the  case  of  a  town  minister.  This  topic  was 
illustrated  by  the  speaker  in  a  torrent  of  eloquence  which 
seemed  to  astonish  the  house,  and  which  has,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  best  critics  and  judges,  perhaps  never  been  exceeded. 
He  contended  that  there  was  no  other  way  of  preventing  the 
danger  arising  to  the  good  order  of  society  from  the  hostile 
attacks  of  an  illiterate  rabble,  who  were  seen  in  such  crowds 
at  certain  hours  to  issue  from  their  workshops  and  manufacto- 
ries, than  by  the  kindly  and  unwearied  attentions  of  their  pas- 
tors among  them.  This  would  reclaim  them  when  the  gibbet, 
with  all  its  terrors,  would  have  no  effect.  Who  could  view, 
without  alarm,  that  neglected  population  who  scowled  upon 
you  as  you  passed,  with  an  outlandish  stare,  who  had  never 
spoken  to  a  clergyman  in  their  life,  and  who  were  perfectly 
amazed  when  he  began  to  put  a  few  plain  questions  to  them  in 
the  way  of  his  official  duty  ?  There  could  be  no  more  fitting 
object  than  these  people  for  the  attention  of  all  who  wished 
well  both  to  religion  and  to  the  civil  Government.  Give  not, 
therefore,  a  town  clergyman  anything  else  to  do  beyond  his 
9 


98  LIFE   OF   DK.   CHALMERS.  1816. 

clerical  duties.  They  will  be  enough — more  than  enough  in 
most  cases.  He  wished  that  a  petition  should  be  presented  to 
an  enlightened  and  paternal  Government  (who,  he  had  no 
doubt,  would  listen  to  it  when  once  they  knew  the  fact,  which 
at  present  they  did  not),  to  employ  some  other  persons  than 
'clergymen  to  give  certificates  for  the  receiving  of  prize  money 
and  of  money  granted  to  soldiers'  wives,  and  numberless  things 
of  this  sort,  which  harassed  a  clergyman,  and  cut  up  his  time 
intolerably  ;  which  totally  secularized  him,  and  converted  him 
from  a  dispenser  of  the  bread  of  life  into  a  mere  dispenser  of 
human  benefits." 

*"  I  know  not  what  it  is,'  said  the  greatest  critic  of  our  age,* 
after  hearing  Dr.  Chalmers  upon  this  occasion,  *  but  there  is 
somethincr  altoojether  remarkable  about  that  man.  It  reminds 
me  more  of  what  one  reads  of  as  the  effect  of  the  eloquence 
of  Demosthenes  than  anything  I  ever  heard.'  " 

When  the  vote  was  taken,  the  majority  was  found  to  be  in 
favor  of  consulting  the  presbyteries.  The  Assembly  of  next 
year,  however,  found  that  a  majority  of  the  presbyteries  had 
decided  against  the  kind  of  plurality  in  question,  which  accord- 
ingly was  abolished. 

On  the  Sabbath  succeeding.  Dr.  Chalmers  preached  before 
the  Lord  High  Commissioner,  on  which  occasion  the  accounts 
of  the  sermon  and  of  the  crowds  that  pressed  to  hear,  and  of 
the  effects  produced  upon  them,  though  giving  no  tangible 
conception  of  the  peculiar  charm  of  his  oratory,  as  what  de- 
scription could  embody  an  element  consisting  to  so  great  a 
degree  in  the  flashes  of  emotion  attendant  on  the  present  crea- 
tions of  genius,  testify  very  abundantly  to  a  degree  of  oratori- 
cal power  which  it  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  generations  of 
mankind  to  witness. 

»The  late  Lord  Jeffrey. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

Dr.  Chalmers  had  now  pretty  well  defined  the  extent  of 
his  duties  in  his  parish,  and  made  up  his  mind  as  to  the  amount 
which  was  to  be  deducted  from  the  multifarious  tasks  pre- 
senting themselves  with  claims  upon  his  time.  He  could  not 
rest  satisfied  with  merely  addressing  those  who  chose  to 
come  within  the  reach  of  his  voice  on  the  Sabbath.  One  of 
his  favorite  plans  was  that  of  carrying  christian  instruction 
into  every  family  of  his  parish,  to  "which  end  he  deter- 
mined to  visit,  and,  in  his  own  person,  learn  the  actual  con- 
dition of  all.  Pastoral  visitation  and  instruction,  from  house 
to  house,  is  the  acknowledged  duty  of  every  clergyman 
of  the  Scottish  Establishment,  and  in  the  country  parishes  it 
is,  in  general,  faithfully  observed  ;  but  in  the  cities,  a  burden- 
some round  of  secular  duties  had  been  suffered  to  interfere 
therewith,  until  it  had  become  almost  entirely  neglected.  Dr. 
Chalmers  was  convinced  that  the  degraded  condition  of  so 
much  of  the  city  population  was  due  to  this  neglect,  and  also, 
that  neither  the  neglect  nor  degradation  were  irremediable 
evils.  He  could  perceive  no  reason  why  a  city  minister's  ser- 
vices should  be  less  efficacious  than  those  of  his  brethren  in 
the  country,  and  full  of  hope,  he  resolved,  with  the  help  of 
God,  to  put  his  opinion  to  the  test  of  experience,  and  to  visit 
every  family  of  his  charge  within  a  year.  The  population  of 
the  Tron  church  was  then  estimated  at  from  eleven  to  twelve 
thousand.  His  visits,  consequently,  were,  of  necessity,  very 
short.  A  few  kindly  remarks,  a  few  questions  as  to  education 
and  church  attendance,  and  an  invitation  to  attend  a  discourse 
in  some  neighboring  school-room,  or  other  convenient  place  on 
an  approaching  week  day  evening,  was  all  that  his  time  per- 
mitted. Through  close  and  filthy  alleys,  up  steep  and  narrow 
stairs  to  many  a  house  of  wretched  poverty,  he  made  his  way, 
often  to  the  exhaustion  of  the  elder  who  attended  him,  but 

(99) 


100  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1815. 

with  unflagging  energy,  pursuing  his  Avork  to  its  completion. 
*'  Well,"  said  he,  looking  kindly  over  his  shoulder  upon  his 
elder,  who,  scarcel}^  able  to  keep  pace  with  him,  was  toiling  up 
a  long  and  weary  stair,  '  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  this  kind 
of  visiting  V  Engrossed  with  the  toils  of  the  ascent,  the 
elder  announced  that  he  had  not  been  thinking  much  about  it. 
*  Oh  !  I  know  quite  well,'  said  Dr.  Chalmers,  "  that  if  you 
were  to  speak  your  mind,  you  would  say  that  we  are  putting 
the  butter  very  thinly  upon  the  bread."  Those  brief  visits 
were  not  without  the  most  valuable  results.  They  brought  him 
face  to  face  with  all  his  people,  and  revealed  to  him  their  actual 
condition,  both  physical  and  moral.  "  Writing  to  Mr.  Edie 
early  in  February,  1816,  he  says,  '  I  have  commenced  a  very 
stupendous  work  lately — the  visitation  of  my  parish.  A  very 
great  proportion  of  the  people  have  no  seats  in  any  place  of 
worship  whatever,  and  a  very  deep  and  universal  ignorance  on 
the  high  matters  of  faith  and  eternity  obtains  over  the  whole 
extent  of  a  mighty  population." 

With  the  cares  of  the  Tron  church  pulpit  and  of  the  pas- 
toral instruction  of  such  a  population  upon  his  mind,  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  he  should  have  been  impatient  of  the  many 
interruptions  to  which  he  felt  himself  exposed.  It  had  been 
the  custom  in  Glasgow,  as  perhaps  in  some  other  great  cities, 
to  impose  a  large  amount  of  unministeria]  labor  upon  the  min- 
isters. The  personal  attendance  upon  public  occasions,  de- 
manded of  them,  is  thus  pleasantly  described  by  himself  in  a 
letter  of  the  27th  October,  1815,  to  his  old  friend  and  neigh- 
bor, the  Rev.  Mr.  Watson,  of  Leuchars  : 

**  They  must  have  four  to  every  funeral,  or  they  do  not 
think  that  it  has  been  genteelly  gone  through.  They  must 
have  one  or  more  to  all  the  committees  of  all  the  societies. 
They  must  fall  in  at  every  procession.  They  must  attend 
examinations  innumerable,  and  eat  of  the  dinners  consequent 
upon  these  examinations.  They  have  a  niche  assigned  them 
in  almost  every  public  doing,  and  that  niche  must  be  filled  up 
b}^  them,  or  the  doing  loses  all  its  solemnity  in  the  eyes  of  the 
pubhc.     There  seems  to  be  a  superstitious  charm  in  the  very 


MT.  86.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEKS.  101 

sight  of  them,  and  such  is  the  manifold  officiality  with  which 
they  are  covered,  that  they  must  be  paraded  among  all  the 
meetings  and  all  the  institutions.  I  gave  in  to  all  this  at  first, 
but  I  am  beginning  to  keep  a  suspicious  eye  upon  these  re- 
peated demands  ever  since  I  sat  nearly  an  hour  in  grave  delib- 
eration with  a  number  of  others  upon  a  subject  connected  with 
the  property  of  a  corporation,  and  that  subject  was  a  gutter, 
and  the  question  was  whether  it  should  be  bought  and  covered 
up,  or  let  alone  and  left  to  lie  open.  I  am  gradually  separa- 
ting myself  from  all  this  trash,  and  long  to  establish  it  as  a 
doctrine  that  the  life  of  a  town  minister  should  be  what  the 
life  of  a  country  minister  might  be,  that  is,  a  hfe  of  intellectual 
leisure,  with  the  otium  of  literary  pursuits,  and  his  entire  time 
disposable  to  the  purposes  to  which  the  Apostles  gave  them- 
selves wholly,  that  is,  the  ministry  of  the  word  and  prayer." 
Those  customs,  which  had  encumbered  the  operations  of  his 
predecessors,  and  rendered  them,  notwithstanding  the  zeal  and 
energy  of  many  of  them,  utterly  unable  to  stem  the  torrent  of 
worldly-mindedness  pervading  all  classes.  Dr.  Chalmers  soon 
found  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  break  through.  He  per- 
ceived that  if  such  a  course  of  secular  and  profitless  toil  were 
pursued,  neither  time  nor  strength  would  be  left  him  to  carry 
out  the  higher  objects  of  the  christian  ministry.  Indeed,  not 
a  few  of  his  fellow  laborers,  finding  hardly  any  leisure  for  ei- 
ther study  or  the  decent  discharge  of  their  proper  duties,  in 
utter  weariness  of  spirit,  had,  to  a  great  extent,  neglected  both. 
But  not  only  was  their  time  thus  abused,  they  were  called  upon 
to  assume  tasks  calculated  to  pervert  the  nature  of  their  influ- 
ence with  the  people.  The  administration  of  public  charities, 
having  been  thrown  upon  them,  the  consequence  was,  that  the 
poor  looked  upon  the  minister  as  only  the  distributor  of  money, 
and  his  visit,  when  he  could  aflford  time  to  make  one,  was  val- 
ued only  by  the  amount  of  the  donation.  For  some  months, 
however.  Dr.  Chalmers  silently  submitted  to  prevailing  custom, 
and,  perhaps,  wisely,  until  his  personal  character  and  motives 
should  be  generally  understood,  and  until  he  should  distinctly 
comprehend  the  breadth  and  entire  bearing  of  the  evil.     He 


102  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1816 

began  his  reformation  by  declining  all  share  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  pauperism  of  his  parish,  giving  his  people  to  under- 
stand that  he  "  dealt  in  only  one  article,  that  of  christian 
instruction."  He  also  withheld  attendance  upon  all  public 
meetings  of  a  merely  secular  nature  ;  but  the  calls  upon  him 
in  his  study,  he  could  not  so  easily  dispose  of. 

"  Harassed  at  every  point  of  his  progress,  and  exposed  to 
ignorant  and  ill-applied  reproach,  he  resolved,  at  last,  in  some 
more  public  and  efifectual  manner,  to  assert  the  proper  and 
spiritual  functions  of  the  christian  ministry,  to  vindicate  his 
injured  prerogatives,  and,  if  the  voice  of  remonstrance  and 
rebuke  could  do  it,  to  effect  a  deliverance  for  himself  and  for 
his  brethren."  On  the  13th  of  October,  1816,  he  gave  out  for 
his  text,  in  the  morning,  Acts  vi,  2:  '  Then  the  twelve  called 
the  multitude  of  the  disciples  unto  them,  and  said,  It  is  not 
reason  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of  God  and  serve  ta- 
bles.' Then  followed  a  singular  detail  of  the  manifold  exac- 
tions that  wei'e  made  upon  the  time  of  the  ministers  of  Glas- 
gow, whereby  they  had  been  withdrawn  from  prayer  and  the 
ministry  of  the  word. 

*'  '  I  have  already  said  much,'  he  continued,  'of  the  inter- 
ruption and  the  labor  which  the  public  charities  of  the  place 
bring  along  with  them  ;  and  yet  I  have  not  told  you  one-half 
the  amount  of  it.  I  have  only  insisted  on  that  part  of  it  which 
takes  a  minister  from  his  house,  and  from  which  the  minister, 
at  the  expense  of  a  little  odium,  can  at  all  times  protect  him- 
self, by  the  determined  habit  of  sitting  immovable  under  ever}'- 
call  and  every  application.  All  that  arrangement  which  takes 
a  minister  away  from  his  house,  may  be  evaded  —  but  how 
shall  he  be  able  to  extricate  himself  from  the  besetting  incon- 
veniences of  such  an  arrangement  as  gives  to  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  a  neighborhood  a  constant  and  ever-moving  tendency 
toward  the  house  of  the  minister  ?  The  patronage  with  which 
I  think  it  is  his  heavy  misfortune  to  be  encumbered,  gives  him 
a  share  in  the  disposal  of  innumerable  vacancies,  and  each 
vacancy  gives  rise  to  innumerable  candidates,  and  each  candi- 
date is  sure  to  strengthen  bis  chance  for  success  by  stirring  up 


^T.  36.  '  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  103 

a  whole  round  of  acquaintances,  who,  in  the  various  forms  of 
written  and  of  personal  entreaty,  discharge  their  wishes  on  the 
minister,  in  the  shape  of  innumerable  applications.  It  is  fair 
to  observe,  however,  that  the  turmoil  of  all  this  electioneering 
has  its  times  and  its  seasons.  It  does  not  keep  by  one  in 
the  form  of  a  steady  monsoon.  It  comes  upon  him  more  in 
the  resemblance  of  a  hurricane  ;  and,  like  the  hurricanes  of 
the  atmosphere,  it  has  its  months  of  violence  and  its  intervals 
of  periodical  cessation.  I  shall  only  say  that  when  it  does 
come,  the  power  of  contemplation  takes  to  herself  wings  and 
flees  away.  She  cannot  live  and  flourish  in  the  whirlwind 
of  all  that  noise  and  confusion  by  which  her  retreat  is  so 
boisterously  agitated.  She  sickens  and  grows  pale  at  every 
quivering  of  the  household  bell,  and  at  every  volley  from  the 
household  door,  by  which  the  loud  notes  of  impatience  march 
along  the  passages,  and  force  an  impetuous  announcement 
into  every  chamber  of  the  dwelhng-place.  She  finds  all  this 
to  be  too  much  for  her.  These  rude  and  incessant  visitations  fa- 
tigue and  exhaust  her,  and  at  length  banish  her  entirely  ;  nor 
will  she  suff'er  either  force  or  flattery  to  detain  her  in  a  mansion 
invaded  by  the  din  of  such  turbulent  and  uncongenial  elements." 

The  subject  thus  treated  in  the  morning,  was  further  pur- 
sued in  the  afternoon,  in  a  spirit  of  mingled  irony  and  pathos. 
He  dAvelt  especially  upon  the  loss  which  the  literature  of  the- 
ology and  the  learning  of  its  ministers  had  thereby  sustained. 
That  day's  work  eff"ected  its  purpose.  Henceforward  Mr.  Chal- 
mers received  no  more  invitations  to  preside  at  public  festivi- 
ties or  sit  in  scavenger  committees.  He  had  other  work  laid 
out  for  himself,  and  not  only  for  himself,  but  also  for  many  others 
under  his  direction,  which  he  was  burning  to  execute  as  soon 
as  that  rubbish  should  be  cleared  away — work  more  consistent 
with  the  spirit  of  his  sacred  calling. 

The  population  of  the  city  of  Glasgov^  had  increased  so 
much  beyond  the  means  of  christian  instruction,  that  many  of 
the  parishes  had  become  quite  unmanageable,  and  with  the 
pastoral  visitation  all  attempts  at  religious  instruction,  except 
from  the  pulpit,  had  been  discontinued.    The  consequence  was 


104  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1816. 

that  coldness  and  formality  prevailed  among  the  higher 
classes,  and  the  great  mass  of  the  poor  were  left  in  worse  than 
heathen  ignorance.  "  Till  Dr.  Chalmers  came  to  GlasgoAv," 
so  says  a  most  competent  authority,*  ''parochial  christian  influ- 
ence was  a  mere  name  —  it  was  not  systematic,  it  was  not  un- 
derstood— there  was  not  the  machinery  for  the  moral  elevation 
of  a  town  population.  The  people  were  let  alone.  Some  of 
the  elders  of  the  Tron  church  were  excellent  men,  but  their 
chief  duty  was  to  stand  at  the  plate,  receive  the  free-will  offer- 
ings of  the  congregation  as  they  entered,  and  distribute  them 
to  the  poor  by  a  monthly  allowance.  Their  spiritual  duties 
and  exertions  were  but  small  and  almost  exclusively  confined  to  a 
few  of  the  sick."  Their  old  habits  would  have  presented  many  an 
obstacle  to  new  efforts;  and  Dr.  Chalmers,  with  a  wisdom  equal 
to  his  energy,  had  a  few  younger  men,  who,  less  prejudiced, 
might  be  more  active  coadjutors,  ordained  to  the  eldership. 
**  His  strong  hand  not  only  never  tried  to  put  new  wine  into 
old  bottles,  but  it  was  with  a  very  gentle  motion  that  even  into 
the  new  bottles  the  new  wine  was  poured." 

The  first  step  in  reformation  was  that  of  increasing  the  num- 
ber and  efficiency  of  the  Sabbath  schools.  A  few  zealous 
members  of  his  congregation  were  induced  to  form  themselves 
into  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  opening  such  schools  in  vari- 
ous districts  of  the  parish,  and  of  visiting  the  various  families 
to  obtain  the  regular  attendance  of  the  children;  and  such  was 
the  energy  and  judgment  with  which  they  proceeded,  that  in 
two  years  that  society  had  not  less  than  twelve  hundred  pupils 
under  its  instruction.  Communication  and  harmonious  co-ope- 
ration was  maintained  among  the  teachers  by  means  of  monthly 
meetings,  at  which  they  consulted  concerning  the  best  method 
of  teaching  and  governing,  and  the  wisest  measures  for  extend- 
ing the  operation  of  the  enterprise.  '•  Our  meetings,"  says  Mr. 
Thomson,  one  of  the  members  of  the  society,  "were  very  delight- 
ful. I  never  saw  any  set  of  men,  who  were  so  animated  by  one 
spirit,  and  whose  zeal  was  so  steadily  sustained.  The  Doctor  was 
the  life  of  the  whole.  There  was  no  assuming  of  superiority — no 
*  David  Stow,  Esq. 


JET.  37.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMB:KS.  105 

appearance  of  the  minister  directing  everything  ;  every  one 
was  free  to  make  remarks  or  suggestions,  Dr.  Chalmers  ever 
the  most  ready  to  receive  a  hint  or  a  suggestion  from  the 
youngest  or  least  experienced  member  ;  and  if  any  useful  hint 
came  from  such  a  one  he  was  careful  to  give  him  the  full  merit 
of  it — calling  it,  indeed,  generally  by  his  name.  Although  we 
had  no  set  forms  of  teaching,  yet  we  conversed  over  all  the 
modes  that  we  might  find  out  the  best.  On  one  point  we  had 
much  discussion,  namely,  whether  or  not  punishment  should 
be  resorted  to  in  a  Sabbath  school.  Mr.  Stow  was  very  stren- 
uous in  condemning  its  introduction.  I  was  rather  inclined 
the  other  way.  Among  other  strong  cases,  Mr.  Stow  told 
us  of  a  boy  who  had  been  so  restless,  idle,  and  mischievous, 
that  he  was  afraid  he  would  have  to  put  him  away,  when 
the  thought  occurred  to  him  to  give  the  boy  an  office.  He 
put,  accordingly,  all  the  candles  of  the  school  under  his 
care.  From  that  hour  he  was  an  altered  boy,  and  became 
a  diligent  scholar.  An  opportunity  soon  occurred  of  trying 
my  way  of  it  also.  A  school,  composed  of  twenty  or  thirty 
boys,  situated  in  the  east  end  of  the  parish,  had  become  so 
unruly  and  unmanageable,  that  it  had  beaten  off  every 
teacher  who  had  gone  to  it.  The  society  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  it,  and  the  doctor  asked  me  if  I  would  go 
out  and  try  to  reduce  it  to  order.  I  was  not  very  fond  of 
the  task,  but  consented.  I  went  out  the  next  Sabbath,  and 
told  the  boys,  whom  I  found  all  assembled,  that  I  had  heard 
a  very  bad  account  of  them,  that  I  had  come  out  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  them  good,  that  I  must  have  peace  and 
attention,  that  I  would  submit  to  no  disturbance,  and  that, 
in  the  first  place,  we  must  begin  with  prayer.  They  all 
stood  up,  and  I  commenced,  and  certainly  did  not  forget  the 
injunction.  Watch  and  pray.  I  had  not  proceeded  two 
sentences,  when  one  little  fellow  gave  his  neighbor  a  tre- 
mendous dig  in  the  side  ;  I  instantly  stepped  forward  and 
gave  him  a  sound  cuff  on  the  side  of  his  head.  I  never 
spoke  a  word,  but  stepped  back,  concluded  the  prayer, 
taught   for  a  month,  and  never  had   a  more  orderly  school. 


106  LIFE    OF    1)K.    CHALMERS.  1817. 

The  case  was  reported  at  one  of  our  own  meetings.  The  doc- 
tor enjoyed  it  exceedingly,  and  taking  up  my  instances,  and 
comparing  it  with  Mr.  Stow's,  he  concluded  that  the  question 
of  punishment  or  non-punishment  stood  just  where  it  was, 
inasmuch  as  it  had  been  found  that  the  judicious  appointment 
of  a  candle-snuffer-general  and  a  good  cuff  on  the  lu^  had  been 
about  equally  efficacious." 

One  of  the  improvements  early  adopted  by  the  society  was 
that  of  confining  each  of  its  schools  to  a  very  small  locality 
and  charging  the  teacher  with  the  supervision,  as  far  as  that 
kind  of  instruction  was  concerned,  of  its  families.  Each  teacher 
thus  became  well  acquainted  with  the  condition  and  spiritual 
wants  of  his  district  and  became  a  valuable  auxiliary  to  the 
minister.  In  Dr.  Chalmers's  own  language  the  system  became 
"  an  effectual  preaching  of  the  gospel  from  door  to  door." 
From  this  Sabbath  school  society,  others  soon  afterward 
branched  off  and  multiplied  until  no  less  than  eight  existed 
in  different  parts  of  the  city  and  suburbs.  One  of  these  is 
mentioned,  which  in  six  months  from  its  formation  counted 
twenty-six  schools  and  seven  hundred  and  thirty-tAvo  children 
in  attendance.  "  I  consider,"  writes  Mr.  Stow,  one  of  those 
engaged  in  the  work,  "  had  Dr.  Chalmers  done  nothing  more 
than  promote  the  principle  of  this  local  system  of  Sabbath- 
schools,  he  would  not  have  lived  in  vain.  You  can  easily  con- 
ceive the  labor  and  fatigue  he  must  have  undergone,  first  to 
convince  his  agents  of  the  propriety  of  his  plan,  and  then  to 
keep  them  from  breaking  the  rules.  You  also  know  the  diffi- 
culty of  retaining  Sabbath-school  teachers  for  any  lengthened 
period  under  any  system  of  management,  untrained  as  they 
are  to  the  art,  and  over  sanguine  of  immediate  results.  The 
doctor's  Christian  simplicity,  however  operated,  powerfully  in 
retaining  nearly  all." 

Many  were  opposed  to  these  methods  of  instruction  ;  it  was 
objected  that  they  interfered  with  the  proper  domestic  training 
of  the  young ;  that  they  engaged  laymen  in  work  which  was 
proper  to  clergymen  alone,  and  that  they  would  be  the  means 
of  promoting  fanaticism.     In  one  of  his  sermons,  delivered  in 


^T.  87.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  107 

his  own  pulpit  about  the  end  of  the  year  1816,  Dr.  Chalmers 
**  entered  upon  a  vigorous  and  animated  defense  of  Sabbath- 
schools,  the  very  tone  and  manner  of  which  sufficiently  testifies 
as  to  the  state  of  public  feeling  at  that  time  in  Glasgow.  •  It 
is  not  easy  for  me,'  he  said  in  closing  this  defense,  '  to  describe 
my  general  feeling  in  reference  to  the  population  with  which  I 
have  more  immediately  to  do.  I  feel  as  if  it  were  a  mighty 
and  impenetrable  mass,  truly  beyond  the  strength  of  one  indi- 
vidual arm,  and  before  which,  after  a  few  furtive  and  unavail- 
ing exertions,  nothing  remains  but  to  sit  down  in  the  idleness 
of  despair.  It  is  a  number,  it  is  a  magnitude,  it  is  an  endless 
succession  of  houses  and  families,  it  is  an  extent  of  field  which 
puts  at  a  distance  all  hope  of  a  deep  or  universal  impression — • 
it  is  an  utter  impossibility,  even  with  the  most  active  process 
of  visitation,  to  meet  the  ever-pressing  demands  of  the  sick 
and  the  desolate  and  the  dying,  it  is  all  this,  I  confess,  which 
tempts  me  to  seek  for  relief  in  some  wise  and  efficient  system 
of  deputation.  In  these  circumstances  I  do  feel  greatly  obliged 
by  every  contribution  to  the  great  cause  of  instructing  and  of 
moralizing.  I  do  rejoice  particularly  in  the  multiplication  of 
those  humble  and  often  despised  seminaries.  I  think  I  am 
certain  that  they  are  well  suited  to  the  present  needs  and  cir- 
cumstances of  our  population,  that  they  may  be  made  to  open 
up  a  way  through  a  mass  that  would  be  otherwise  impenetra- 
ble, and  to  circulate  a  right  and  a  healthy  influence  through 
all  the  untraveled  obscurities  which  abound  in  it — that  an 
unction  of  blessedness  may  emanate  abroad  upon  every  neigh- 
borhood in  which  they  are  situated — that  they  occupy  a  high 
point  of  command  over  the  moral  destinies  of  our  city,  for  the 
susceptibilities  of  childhood  and  of  youth  are  what  they  have 
to  deal  with.  It  is  a  tender  and  inflexible  plant  to  which  they 
aim  at  giving  a  direction.  It  is  conscience  at  the  most  impres- 
sible stage  of  its  history  which  they  attempt  to  touch,  and  on 
which  they  labor  to  engrave  the  lessons  of  conduct  and  of 
principle.  And  I  doubt  not  that  when  we  are  mouldering  in 
our  coffins,  when  the  present  race  of  men  have  disappeared 
and  made  room  for  another  succession  of  the  species,  when 


108  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1816. 

parents  of  every  cast  and  of  every  character  have  sunk  into 
oblivion,  and  sleep  together  in  quietness,  the  teachers  of  these 
institutions,  will  leave  behind  them  a  surviving  memorial  of 
their  labor,  in  a  large  portion  of  that  worth  and  piety  which 
shall  adorn  the  citizens  of  a  future  generation.'" 

About  midsummer  of  1816,  Dr.  Chalmers  escaped  from  the 
incessant  labor  and  confinement  of  his  parish,  to  enjoy  a  few 
weeks  of  recreation  in  the  country,  and  the  neighborhood  of 
his  relations  and  old  acquaintances.  In  the  course  of  that 
tour  he  visited  Kirkaldy,  Anstruther,  and  Kilmany.  During 
his  stay,  in  the  latter  place,  the  zeal  of  his  former  parishioners 
to  see  him  was  such,  that  he  was  surrounded  by  a  perpetual 
crowd.  And  when  it  was  known  that  he  was  to  preach  on 
Sabbath,  numbers  came  in  also  from  the  neighboring  parishes, 
and  one  minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Melvil,  announcing  no  sermon 
in  his  own  church,  transferred  himself  and  congregation, 
bodily,  to  Kilmany.  The  assembly  was  so  great  that  the 
preacher  took  his  station  at  an  open  window,  so  as  to  be  heard 
also  by  those  who  could  find  no  accommodation  within. 

After  similar  visits  to  friends  of  earlier  days  in  Cupar,  Dun- 
dee, and  elsewhere,  occupying  about  a  fortnight  more,  he  re- 
turned to  Glasgow.  His  absence  had  not  been  all  holiday,  as 
we  learn  that  "  scarcely  a  single  day  was  suffered  to  elapse  in 
which  an  hour  or  two  was  not  redeemed  from  its  busiest  periods, 
and  consecrated  to  composition.  Between  Glasgow  and  Kirk- 
aldy the  full  preparations  for  a  Sabbath's  services  were  com- 
pleted. At  Kirkaldy,  on  the  Saturday,  *  Dr.  Jones's  Sermons,' 
with  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Josiah  Condor,  then  editor  of 
the  Eclectic,  accepting  his  offer  to  review  the  volume,  were  put 
into  his  hands  ;  and  though  he  '  never  preached  with  greater 
fatigue  or  discomfort '  than  on  the  succeeding  Sabbath,  the 
Monday's  Journal  has  the  following  entry  :  *  I  yoked  to  the 
review  of  "  Jones,"  have  read  three  of  his  sermons,  and 
thrown  off  a  tolerable  modicum  of  observations  on  sermons  in 
general.  I  trust  I  shall  be  able  to  finish  my  review  of  him 
this  week.'  He  carried  the  volume  in  his  pocket,  reading  it 
often  as  he  walked,  and  snatching  the  readiest  hours   in  the 


JST.    87.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  109 

houses  of  his  acquaintances  to  carry  forward  his  review.  *  I  have 
this  forenoon. '  is  his  entry  on  Wednesday  at  Pilmuir,  *  thrown 
off  a  full  modicum  of  additional  review  of  "  Jones's  Sermons." 
I  have  also  written  to  Dr.  Ireland,  and  offered  him  a  sight  of 
the  manuscript  on  its  way  to  London,  lest  the  friends  should 
be  resting  too  high  an  expectation  on  my  account  of  the  vol- 
ume.'— '  After  breakfast,'  such  is  the  note  of  progress  at  Elie. 
*  I  retired  to  my  bedroom,  where  I  read  ''  Jones."  His  ser- 
mons at  Glasgow  and  Kilmany  are  in  the  volume,  but  they 
look  sadly  reduced  and  enfeebled  in  print.  Anstruther,  Sat- 
urday, half  past  one — I  have  now  finished  the  review  of  *'  Dr. 
Jones's  Sermons."  I  am  heartily  tired  of  this  kind  of  work, 
and  should  like  henceforward  to  decline  it  altosfether.' 

''  Tired,  however,  as  he  felt  on  the  Saturday  of  the  work  of 
reviewing,  another  work  was  taken  up  on  the  Monday,  and 
one,  we  should  have  thought,  as  little  likely  to  be  undertaken 
amidst  such  a  life  of  varied  and  perpetual  motion  as  he  now 
was  living.  '  I  began,'  he  says,  '  my  fourth  astronomical  ser- 
mon to-day.'  And  in  a  small  pocket-book,  with  borrowed  pen 
and  ink,  in  strange  apartments,  where  he  was  liable  every  mo- 
ment to  interruption,  that  sermon  was  taken  up  and  carried  on 
to  completion.  At  the  manse  of  Balmerino,  disappointed  at 
not  finding  Mr.  Thomson  at  home,  and  having  a  couple  of 
hours  to  spare — at  the  manse  of  Kilmany,  in  the  drawing- 
room,  with  all  the  excitement  before  him  of  meeting,  for  the 
first  time,  after  a  year's  absence,  many  of  his  former  friends 
and  parishioners — at  the  manse  of  Logie,  into  which  he  turned 
at  random  by  the  way  and  found  a  vacant  hour — paragraph 
after  paragraph  was  penned  of  a  composition  which  bears  upon 
it  as  much  of  the  aspect  of  high  and  continuous  elaboration,  as 
almost  any  piece  of  writing  in  our  language. 

"  I  believe  that  literary  history  presents  few  parallel  in- 
stances of  such  power  of  immediate  and  entire  concentration 
of  thought,  under  such  ready  command  of  the  will,  exercised 
at  such  broken  intervals,  amid  such  unpropitious  circum- 
stances, and  yet  yielding  a  product  in  which  not  a  single 
trace    either    of  rupture    in    argument  or  variation    in    style 


110  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1816. 

appears.  Those  ingenious  critics,  who,  on  their  first  appear- 
ance of  the  'Astronomical  Sermons,'  in  print,  spoke  of  the 
midnight  oil  which  must  have  been  consumed,  and  the  vast 
elaboration  which  must  have  been  bestowed,  how  much  would 
they  have  been  surprised  had  they  but  known  the  times  and 
modes,  and  places  in  which  one,  at  least,  of  these  discourses 
had  been  prepared  ! 

"  But  higher  even  than  the  literary  interest  which  attaches 
to  the  record  of  this  visit  to  Fifeshire,  are  those  brief  notices 
given  to  us  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  writer.  *  I  am 
not  attempting,'  he  in  one  place  says,  *  any  more  at  present 
than  a  sheet  of  severe  composition  in  the  week  ;  and  as  I  had 
nearly  completed  this,  I  resolved  to  abandon  myself  to  the 
stream  of  events  throughout  this  day  (Saturday),  and  upon 
the  whole,  I  hope  that  the  uncomplying,  severity  of  system  is 
now  giving  way  with  me  under  a  milder  and  more  attractive 
principle  of  forbearance  with  others.  I  speak,  however,  with 
great  humihty,  and  am  sure  that  nothing  but  Divine  grace  will 
uphold  me  in  that  which  is  good  and  acceptable  unto  the  Lord. 
I  trust,  amid  all  my  imperfections,  that  I  may  be  getting  on  in 
earnest,  humble,  and  spiritual  Christianity.  I  feel,  however, 
my  barrenness,  my  forgetfulness  of  God,  my  miserable  dis- 
tance from  the  temper  and  elevation  of  the  New  Testament, 
my  proneness  to  self  and  its  willful  and  headlong  gratifica- 
tions, and,  above  all,  a  kind  of  delusive  orthodox  satisfaction 
with  the  mere  confession  of  all  this,  without  a  vigorous  putting 
forth  of  any  one  revealed  expedient  for  getting  the  better 
of  it.  "...."  I  have  much  to  learn  in  the  way  of  observing  all 
the  kindnesses  and  all  the  facilities  of  social  intercourse  ;  and 
I  can  not  withhold  it,  as  a  testimony  to  the  power  and  impor- 
tance of  gospel  faith,  that  the  more  I  feel  of  peace  with  God, 
the  more  largely  and  the  more  freely  I  take  in  of  those  prom- 
ises which  are  yea  and  amen  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  more  I  have 
my  eye  open  to  the  sufficiency  of  His  atonement,  and  the  sub- 
duing efficacy  of  His  Spirit — in  a  word,  the  more  I  am  exer- 
cised with  all  that  is  direct  and  peculiar  in  piety,  the  more  do 
I  feel  my  heart  attuned  to  the  cordialities,  and  the  patience, 


^T.    87.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMEKS.  Ill 

and  the  facilities  of  benevolence  and  good- will.  Oh  !  that  I 
was  making  more  steady  and  decided  progress  than  I  have 
ever  yet  done — that  all  the  asperities  of  temper  were  soften- 
ing within  me — that  I  was  becoming  better  as  the  member  of 
a  company  and  the  member  of  a  family,  and  growing  every 
day  in  conformity  to  the  image  of  my  all-pure  and  all-perfect 
Saviour.'  " 

"At  the  time  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  settlement  in  Glasgow  it  was 
the  custom  that  the  clergymen  of  the  city  should  preach  in  ro- 
tation on  Thursday,  in  the  Tron  church,  a  duty  which,  as  their 
number  was  then  but  eight,  returned  to  each  within  an  inter- 
val of  two  months.  On  Thursday,  the  23d  of  November,  1815, 
this  week-day  service  devolved  on  Dr.  Chalmers.  The  entire 
novelty  of  the  discourse  delivered  upon  this  occasion,  and  the 
promise  held  out  by  the  preacher  that  a  series  of  similar  dis- 
courses was  to  follow,  excited  the  liveliest  interest,  not  in  his 
own  congregation  alone,  but  throughout  the  whole  community. 
He  had  presented  to  his  hearers  a  sketch  of  the  recent  discov- 
eries of  astronomy — distinct  in  outline,  and  drawn  with  all  the 
ease  of  one  who  was  himself  a  master  in  the  science,  yet  gor- 
geously magnificent  in  many  of  its  details,  displaying  amid 
'the  brilliant  glow  of  a  blazing  eloquence,'  the  sublime  poetry 
of  the  heavens.  In  his  subsequent  discourses,  Dr.  Chalmers 
proposed  to  discuss  the  argument,  or  rather,  prejudice,  against 
the  Christian  Revelation  which  grounds  itself  on  the  vastness 
and  variety  of  those  unnumbered  worlds  which  He  scattered 
over  the  immeasurable  fields  of  space.  This  discussion  occu- 
pied all  the  Thursday  services  allotted  to  him  during  the  year 
1816.  The  spectacle  which  presented  itself  in  the  Trongate 
upon  the  day  of  the  delivery  of  each  new  astronomical  dis- 
course, was  a  most  singular  one.  Long  ere  the  bell  began 
to  toll,  a  stream  of  people  might  be  seen  pouring  through  the 
passage  which  led  into  the  Tron  church.  Across  the  street, 
and  immediately  opposite  to  this  passage,  was  the  old  reading- 
room,  where  all  the  Glasgow  merchants  met.  So  soon,  how- 
ever, as  the  gathering  quickening  stream  upon  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street  gave  the  accustomed  warning,  out  flowed 


112  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1S17. 

the  occupants  of  the  coffee-room  ;  the  pages  of  the  Herald  or 
the  Courier  were  for  a  while  forsaken,  and  during  two  of  the 
best  business  hours  of  the  day,  the  old  reading-room  wore  a 
strange  aspect  of  desolation.  The  busiest  merchants  of  the 
city  were  wont,  indeed,  upon  those  memorable  days  to  leave 
their  desks,  and  kind  masters  allowed  their  clerks  and  appren- 
tices to  follow  their  example.  Out  of  the  very  heart  of  the 
great  tumult  an  hour  or  two  stood  redeemed  for  the  highest 
exercises  of  the  spirit ;  and  the  low  traffic  of  earth  forgotten, 
heaven,  and  its  high  economy,  and  its  human  sympathies,  and 
eternal  interests,  engrossed  the  minds,  at  least,  and  the  fancy 
of  congregated  thousands. 

"  In  Januar}^  1817,  this  series  of  discourses  was  annoimced 
as  ready  for  publication.  It  had  generally  been  a  matter  of 
so  much  commercial  risk  to  issue  a  volume  of  sermons  from  the 
press,  that  recourse  had  been  often  had,  in  such  cases,  to  pub- 
lication by  subscription.  Dr.  Chalmers's  publisher,  Mr.  Smith, 
had  hinted  that  perhaps  this  method  ought,  in  this  instance, 
also  to  be  tried.  *  It  is  far  more  agreeable  to  my  feelings,' 
Dr.  Chalmers  wrote  to  him  a  few  days  before  the  day  of  pub- 
lication, '  that  the  book  should  be  introduced  to  the  general 
market,  and  sell  on  the  public  estimation  of  it,  than  that  the 
neighborhood  here  should  be  plied  in  all  the  shops  with  sub- 
scription papers,  and  as  much  as  possible  wrung  out  of  their 
partiahties  for  the  author.'  Neither  author  nor  publisher  had 
at  this  time  the  least  idea  of  the  extraordinary  success  which 
was  awaiting  their  forthcoming  volume.  It  was  published  on 
the  28th  of  January,  1817.  In  ten  weeks,  6000  copies  had 
been  disposed  of,  the  demand  showing  no  symptom  of  de- 
cline. Nine  editions  were  called  for  within  a  year,  and  nearly 
20,000  copies  were  in  circulation.  Never  previously,  nor 
ever  since,  has  any  volume  of  sermons  met  with  such  imme- 
diate and  general  acceptance.  The  '  Tales  of  my  Land 
lord,'  had  a  month's  start  in  the  date  of  publication,  and  even 
with  such  a  competitor,  it  ran  an  almost  equal  race.  Not  a 
few  curious  observers  were  struck  with  the  novel  competition, 
and   watched,  with  lively  curiosity,   how  the    great   Scottish 


^T.    87.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  113 

preacher  and  the  great  Scottish  novelist  kept  for  a  whole  year 
so  nearly  abreast  of  one  another.  It  was,  beside,  the  first 
volume  of  sermons  which  fairly  broke  the  lines  which  had  sep- 
arated too  long  the  literary  from  the  religious  public.  Its 
secondary  merits  won  audience  for  it  in  quarters  where  evan- 
gelical Christianity  was  nauseated  and  despised.  It  disarmed 
even  the  keen  hostihty  of  Hazlitt,  and  kept  him  for  a  whole 
forenoon  spell-bound  beneath  its  power.  '  These  sermons," 
he  says,  '  ran  like  wild-fire  through  the  country,  were  the  dar- 
lings of  watering-places,  were  laid  in  the  windows  of  inns,  and 

were  to  be  met  with  in  all  places  of  public  resort We 

remember  finding  the  volume  in  the  orchard  of  the  inn  at  Bur- 
ford  Bridge,  near  Boxhill,  and  passing  a  whole,  and  very  de- 
lightful morning  in  reading  it  without  quitting  the  shade  of  an 
apple-tree." 

The  reviews,  as  usual,  found  many  faults  to  blame,  more  or 
less  radical,  and  Chalmers  himself  was  persuaded  into  the 
notion  that  some  were  correct  in  blaming  ;  but  the  public  con- 
tinued faithful  to  the  favorite  volume,  notwithstanding,  and  to 
this  day  it  '*  commands  a  larger  sale  than  any  other  portion" 
of  its  author's  writings. 

*'  It  was  amidst  the  full  burst  of  that  applause  which  his 
volume  of  sermons  had  elicited,  that  Dr.  Chalmers  appeared 
for  the  first  time  in  a  London  pulpit.  Mrs.  Chalmers  and  he, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Smith,  his  publisher,  left  Glasgow  for 
London,  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  14th  of  April,  1817. 
Their  progress  was  slow  and  circuitous.  Crossing  from  Cum- 
berland to  Yorkshire,  visiting  the  scenery  of  Rokeby,  and 
pausing  to  inspect  the  Moravian  establishment  of  Fulneck, 
they  did  not  reach  Birmingham  till  the  evening  of  Friday, 
the  23d." 

At  Sheffield  they  waited  upon  Mr.  Montgomery,  the  poet, 
who  has  furnished  the  following  interesting  details  of  his  first 
interview  with  Dr.  Chalmers  : 

"  On  a  dark  evening,  about  the  end  of  April  (I  have  for- 
gotten the  year),  two  strangers  called  at  my  house  in  Sheffield, 
where  I  then  resided,  one  of  whom  introduced  himself  as  Mr. 
10 


114  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1817, 

Smith,  bookseller  of  Glasgow,  and  his  companion  as  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Chalmers,  of  the  same  city,  who,  being  on  a  journey  to 
London,  where  he  was  engaged  to  preach  the  annual  sermon 
for  the  Missionary  Society,  desired  to  have  a  short  interview 
with  me.  Of  course  I  was  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
becoming  personally  acquainted  with  so  great  and  good  a  man, 
and  we  soon  were  earnestly  engaged  in  conversation  on  sub- 
jects endeared  to  us  both  ;  for,  though  at  first  I  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  take  in  and  decipher  his  peculiar  utterance,  yet  the 
thoughts  that  spoke  themselves  through  the  seemingly  uncouth 
words  came  so  quick  and  thick  upon  me  from  his  lips,  that  I 
could  not  help  understanding  them  ;  till,  being  myself  roused 
into  unwonted  volubility  of  speech,  I  responded  as  promptly 
as  they  were  made  to  his  numerous  and  searching  inquiries 
concerning  the  United  Brethren  (commonly  called  Moravians), 
among  whom  I  was  born,  but  especially  respecting  their  scrip- 
tural method  of  evangelizing  and  civilizing  barbarian  tribes 
of  the  rudest  classes  of  heathen.  In  the  outset  he  told  me 
that  he  had  come  directly  from  Fulneck,  near  Leeds,  one  of 
our  principal  establishments  in  England,  and  where  there  is  an 
academy  open  for  the  education  of  children  of  parents  of  all 
Christian  denominations,  in  which  I  had  been  myself  a  pupil 
about  ten  years  in  the  last  century.  At  the  time  of  which  I 
am  writing,  and  for  several  years  in  connection,  there  were 
many  scholars  from  the  North,  as  well  as  Irish  and  English 
boarders,  there.  My  visitor  said  that  he  had  invited  all  the 
Scotch  lads  to  meet  him  at  the  inn  there,  and  *  how  many, 
think  you,  there  were  of  them  V  he  asked  me.  *  Indeed,  I  can 
not  tell,'  I  replied.  He  answered,  'there  were  saxiain  or 
savantain;' — (I  can  not  pretend  to  spell  the  numbers  as  he 
pronounced  them  to  my  unpracticed  ear  ;) — and  I  was  so 
taken  by  surprise,  that  I  exclaimed  abruptly,  '  It  is  enough  to 
corrupt  the  English  language  in  the  seminary  !'  In  that  mo- 
ment I  felt  I  had  uttered  an  impertinence,  though  without  the 
slightest  consciousness  of  such  an  application  to  my  hearer  ; 
and.  as  instantly  recovering  my  presence  of  mind,  I  added, 
*  When  I  was  at  Fulneck  school,  I  was  the  only  Scotch  lad 


JET.  37.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  115 

there.'  Whether  this  shp  was  noticed  or  passed  off  as  mere 
waste  of  breath  in  the  heat  of  conversation,  I  know  not ;  but 
on  we  went  together  in  another  vein,  on  a  theme  which  deeply 
interested  my  illustrious  visitor,  and  to  the  discussion  of  Avhich 
I  was  principally  indebted  for  the  honor  of  this  sudden  and 
hasty  call  upon  me,  as  he  was  to  set  off  for  town  early  the 
next  morning.  'An  angel  visit,  short  and  bright,'  it  was  to 
me,  and  I  do  not  remember  that  I  ever  spent  half  an  hour  of 
more  animated  and  delightful  intercommunion  with  a  kindred 
spirit  in  my  life.  As  I  have  noticed  already,  our  discourse 
turned  principally  on  the  subject  of  the  Moravian  Missions  in 
pagan  lands,  and  the  lamentable  inability  of  our  few  and  small 
congregations  in  Christendom  to  raise  among  themselves  the 
pecuniary  expenses  of  maintaining  their  numerous  and  com- 
paratively large  establishments  in  Greenland,  Labrador,  North 
and  South  America,  the  West  Indies,  and  South  Africa,  but 
that,  providentially,  they  received  liberal  help  from  the  friends 
of  the  gospel  of  other  evangelical  denominations  ;  hereupon 
Dr.  Chalmers  said — evidently  not  from  sudden  impulse,  but  a 
cherished  purpose  in  his  heart — *  I  mean  to  raise  five  hundred 
pounds  for  the  Brethren's  Missions  this  year  !'  *  Five  hun- 
dred pounds  for  our  poor  missions  !'  I  cried  ;  '  I  never  heard 
of  such  a  thing  before'.'  He  rejoined,  'I  will  do  it.'  But 
while  I  heartily  thanked  him,  and  implicitly  believed  in  the 
integrity  of  his  intention,  I  could  only  hope  that  he  might  be 
able  to  fulfill  it,  and  within  myself  I  said,  *  I  will  watch  you, 
doctor.'  I  did  so,  and  traced  him  through  sermons,  subscrip- 
tions collections,  and  donations,  till  these  had  reahzed,  to  the 
best  of  my  recollection,  a  sum  nearer  to  six  than  five  hundred 
pounds.  Now,  considering  in  how  many  comprehensive  con- 
cerns he  was  at  that  very  time  putting  forth  all  his  strength — 
originating,  promoting,  and  accomplishing  economical,  local, 
patriotic,  and  Christian  plans  for  the  well-being  of  populous 
communities — in  comparison  with  which  this  effort  in  aid  of 
the  brethren  was  like  the  putting  forth  of  his  little  finger  only — 
yet,  I  confess,  that  *  small  thing,'  not  to  be  despised,  gave  me 
a  most  masrnificent  idea  of  the  intellectual,  moral,  and  sancti- 


116  '  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1816. 

fied  power  for  good  with  which  the  human  being  who  stood 
before  me  was  endowed  from  on  high.  And  surely,  if  ever 
ten  talents  were  committed  by  Him  who  is  Lord  of  all  in  his 
kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth,  Dr.  Chalmers  was  so  invested  ; 
and  judging  by  the  labors  which  he  did  in  his  day,  and  the 
works  which  remain,  as  well  as  have  followed  him.  to  his  account, 
we  may  fervently  believe  that  the  treasure  lent  to  him  was 
doubled  by  his  faithful  occupation  of  the  same,  and  that  his 
'joy  of  the  Lord,'  which  was  his  *  strength '  in  life,  is  now  his 
portion  for  ever." 

On  this  journey.  Dr.  Chalmers  also  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  Rev.  Robert  Hall,  at  Leicester,  between  whom  and  him- 
self there  existed  a  mutual  reverential  regard.  The  traveling 
party  separated  at  Warwick,  and  while  Mr.  Smith  proceeded 
to  Paris,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Chalmers  went  into  Gloucestershire, 
to  spend  a  fortnight  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morton. 

"  The  three  travelers  met  again  in  London  on  the  evening 
of  Tuesday,  the  13th  May.  On  the  following  day,  Dr.  Chal- 
mers preached,  in  Surrey  Chapel,  the  anniversary  sermon  for 
the  London  Missionary  Society.  Although  the  service  did  not 
commence  till  eleven  o'clock,  *  at  seven  in  the  morning  the 
chapel  was  crowded  to  excess,  and  many  thousands  went  off 
for  want  of  room. '  The  two  front  seats  in  the  gallery  were 
reserved  for  ministers  and  students  of  theology  to  the  number 
of  between  two  and  three  hundred.  An  occupant  of  one  of 
those  seats  informs  us,  that  *  on  the  termination  of  the  church 
service,  and  after  an  extempore  prayer  by  Dr.  Kollock,  from 
America,  Dr.  Chalmers  entered  the  pulpit  in  his  usual  simple 
and  unpretending  manner,  and  sat  doAvn,  while  all  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  him.  He  rose  and  gave  out  his  text  trom  1  Cor. 
xiv,  22-25.  The  singularity  of  the  text,  and  the  originality 
of  the  exordium  awakened  a  breathless  attention,  which  was 
increased  by  the  northern  accent  of  the  preacher,  and  the  ap- 
parent weakness  or  unmanageableness  of  his  voice.  The  late 
Dr.  Styles,  of  Brighton,  and  Dr.  Henry  Burder,  of  London, 
who  were  sitting  directly  before  me,  looked  at  each  other  with 
anxiety  and  regret,  as  if  doomed  to  disappointment ;  but  he 


MT.  37.  LIFE    OF    DJK.    CHALMERS.  117 

had  not  proceeded  many  minutes  til]  his  voice  gradually  ex- 
panded in  strength  and  compass,  reaching  every  part  of  the 
house,  and  commanding  universal  attention.  At  the  close  of 
many  of  his  long  periods  there  was  a  sensible  rustling  through- 
out the  audience,  as  if  stopping  to  take  breath.  Toward  the 
middle  of  the  discourse,  the  preacher  became  quite  exhausted 
by  the  violence  of  his  action,  and  sat  down,  while  two  verses 
of  a  hymn  were  singing,  accompanied  as  usual  by  the  organ. 
He  then  rose  and  recommenced  his  sermon,  which  occupied 
about  an  hour  and  a  half  in  the  delivery.  Old  Rowland  Hill 
stood  the  whole  time  at  the  foot  of  the  pulpit,  gazing  on  the 
preacher  with  great  earnestness,  and  whenever  any  sentiment 
was  uttered  which  met  his  approval,  signifying  his  assent  by  a 
gentle  nod  of  the  head,  and  an  expressive  smile." 

Of  the  same  occasion,  his  fellow-traveler,  Mr.  Smith,  re- 
marked in  a  letter  to  his  friends  in  Glasgow,  "  The  carrying 
forward  of  minds  never  was  so  visible  to  me  ;  a  constant  assent 
of  the  head  from  the  whole  people  accompanied  all  his  para- 
graphs, and  the  breathlessness  of  expectation  permitted  not 
the  beating  of  a  heart  to  agitate  the  stillness." 

*'  On  Thursday,  the  22d,  Dr.  Chalmers  preached  again  in 
Surrey  Chapel,  on  behalf  of  the  Scottish  Hospital  for  the 
relief  of  aged  and  destitute  natives  of  Scotland,  who  never 
having  acquired  a  settlement  in  England,  had  no  claim  for 
parochial  aid.  In  announcing  this  discourse  in  the  news- 
papers, the  Committee  of  the  Hospital  had  thought  it  de- 
sirable to  make  the  following  intimation  :  '  Divine  service 
begins  at  eleven  o'clock,  but  the  Committee  have  issued 
tickets  to  a  part  of  the  church,  for  the  better  securing  of 
accommodation  to  the  friends  of  the  charity,  it  is  requested 
that  those  holding  tickets  may  be  at  the  chapel  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  doors,  at  half-past  nine  o'clock,  to  prevent  disap- 
pointment.' The  sermon  preached  for  this  Hospital  was 
the  same  which  Dr.  Chalmers  had  delivered  before  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Sons  of  the  Clergy  in  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh. 
The  growing  evils  of  the  poor-laws,  as  then  administered 
in  England,  were  attracting  much  of  the  attention  of  public 


118  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1817. 

men  ;  and  while  tliey  were  only  planning  methods  for  miti- 
gating these  evils,  it  must  have  surprised  a  London  audience 
not  a  little,  to  hear  from  the  pulpit  a  bold  and  uncompromising 
attack  «n  the  principle  and  expediency  of  all  forms  of  legalized 
charity." 

**  On  the  forenoon  of  Sabbath,  the  25th,  Dr.  Chalmers 
preached  in  the  Scotch  church,  London  Wall,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  Hibernian  Society.  *  The  desire,'  says  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Manuel,  who,  at  the  time,  was  the  minister  of  this  church, 

*  felt  by  all  classes,  but  particularly  by  the  higher  classes 
of  society,  to  hear  him,  upon  this  occasion,  was  extreme,  ex- 
ceeding almost  all  precedent.  Among  his  auditors  were 
a  number  of  the  most  distinguished  clergy  of  the  Church  of 
England,  several  peers,  many  members  of  Parliament,  the 
lord  mayor  of  the  city,  and  literary  characters  of  all  classes 
and  denominations.  Anticipating  the  pressure,  a  large  chapel 
in  the  neighborhood  was  engaged  to  receive  the  overflow. 
Not  only  the  Scotch  Church,  but  this  chapel  also  was 
crammed  to  suffocation,  hundreds  seeking  admission,  but 
^oing    away  without    getting    into    either  place  of    worship. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon,  the  lord  mayor  went  up 

into  the  pulpit,  and  importuned  Dr.  Chalmers  to  preach  on 
behalf  of  some  city  object,  which  he  was  obliged  to  decline.* 

*  All  the  world,'  writes  Mr.  Wilberforce,  in  his  diary,  '  wild 
about  Dr.  Chalmers.  He  seems  truly  pious,  simple  and  unas- 
suming. Sunday  25th. —  Off  early  with  Canning,  Huskisson, 
and  Lord  Binning,  to  the  Scotch  Church,  London  Wall,  to  hear 
Dr.  Chalmers.  Vast  crowds.  Bobus  Smith,  Lords  Elgin, 
Harrowby,  etc.  I  was  surprised  to  see  how  greatly  Can- 
ning was  aflfected  ;  at  times,  he  was  quite  melted  into  tears.* 
The  passage  which  most  affected  him  was  at  the  close  of  the 
discourse.  He  is  reported  to  have  said,  that  although  at 
first  he  felt  uneasy  in  consequence  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  man- 
ner and  accent,  yet  that  he  had  never  been  so  arrested  by  any 
oratory.     *  The  tartan,'  so  runs  the  speech  attributed  to  him, 

*  beats  us  all.' 

''On    the  afternoon   of    the  same   Sabbath,  Dr.  Chalmers 


^T.    37.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  119 

preached  for  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nicol,  minister  of  the  Scotch 
Church,  Swallow-street.  The  crowd  here  had  nearly  lost 
its  object  by  the  very  vehemence  of  its  pursuit.  On  ap- 
proaching the  church,  Dr.  Chalmers  and  a  friend  found  so 
dense  a  mass  within  and  before  the  building,  as  to  give  no 
hope  of  effecting  an  entrance  by  the  mere  force  of  ordinary 
pressure.  Lifting  his  cane  and  gently  tapping  the  heads  of 
those  who  were  in  advance,  Dr.  Chalmers's  friend  exclaimed, 
'Make  way  there — make  way  for  Dr.  Chalmers.'  Heads 
indeed  were  turned  at  the  summons,  and  looks  were  given,  but 
with  not  a  few  significant  tokens  of  incredulity,  and  some  broad 
hints  that  they  were  not  to  be  taken  in  by  any  such  device,  the 
sturdy  Londoners  refused  to  move.  Forced  to  retire.  Dr. 
Chalmers  retreated  from  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd,  crossed 
the  street,  stood  for  a  few  moments,  gazing  on  the  growing 
tumult,  and  had  almost  resolved  altogether  to  withdraw.  Mat- 
ters were  not  much  better  when  Mr.  Wilberforce  and  his  party 
approached.  Access  by  any  of  the  ordinary  entrances  was  im- 
possible. In  this  emergency,  and  as  there  was  still  some  un- 
occupied space  around  the  pulpit,  which  the  crowd  had  not 
been  able  to  appropriate,  a  plank  was  projected  from  one  of 
the  windows  till  it  rested  on  an  iron  palisade.  By  this  privi- 
leged passage  Mr.  Wilberforce  and  the  ladies  who  were  with 
him,  were  invited  to  enter,  Lord  Elgin  waving  encouragement 
and  offering  aid  from  within.  *  I  was  surveying  the  breach,* 
says  Mr.  Wilberforce,  'with  a  cautious  and  inquiring  eye,  when 
Lady  D.,  no  shrimp  you  must  observe,  entered  boldly  before 
me,  and  proved  that  it  was  practicable.'  The  impression 
produced  by  the  service  which  followed,  when  all  had  at 
last  settled  down  into  stillness,  was  deeper  than  that  made 
by  any  of  those  which  preceded  it,  and  we  may  hope  it  was 
also  more  salutaiy,  as  the  preacher  dealt  throughout  with 
truths  bearing  directly  on  the  individual  salvation  of  his 
hearers." 

''  With  Mr.  Smith  once  more  as  their  traveling  companion,'* 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Chalmers  left  London  on  Monday,  the  26th  of  May. 
Upon  their  journey  northward,  they  visited  the  west  of  England 


120  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1S17. 

and  Wales,  and  among  other  celebrated  persons,  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  Mrs.  Hannah  More  and  Mr.  Foster.  After 
his  return  to  Scotland,  Dr.  Chalmers  did  not  immediately  pro- 
ceed to  Glasgow,  but  took  up  his  abode,  for  the  purpose  of 
study,  among  the  mountains,  at  a  place  called  Douglas  Mill. 
In  a  letter  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Morton,  from  that  place,  recapit- 
ulating some  of  the  impressions  of  his  London  trip,  he  declared 
his  acquaintance  with  Wilberforce  by  far  the  most  valuable  ac- 
quisition he  had  made  thereby,  although  he  could  reckon  the 
names  of  Lord  Grenville  and  Canning,  and  Sir  Thomas  Ack- 
land  among  the  number. 

**  Some  time  after  his  return  to  Glasgow,  Dr.  Chalmers 
received  a  communication  from  the  Rev.  Robert  Hall,  in 
which  he  says  :  '  It  would  be  difficult  not  to  congratulate  you 
on  the  unrivaled  and  unbounded  popularity  which  attended 
you  in  the  metropolis,  but  I  am  convinced,  from  the  extreme 
modesty  of  your  nature,  such  an  overwhelming  tide  of  dis- 
tinction and  applause  would  be  quite  distressing  to  you. 
When  you  consider,  however,  the  thousands  who  have  pro- 
bably benefited  by  the  unparalleled  energy  of  your  public  min- 
istrations, you  will  be  the  more  easily  reconciled  to  the  incon- 
venience inseparable  from  high  celebrity.  The  attention 
which  your  sermons  have  excited  is  probably  unequaled  in 
modern  literature,  and  it  must  be  a  delightful  reflection  that 
you  are  advancing  the  cause  of  religion  in  innumerable  multi- 
tudes of  your  fellow  creatures,  whose  faces  you  will  never  be- 
hold till  the  last  day.  My  ardent  prayer  is,  that  talents  so 
rich  in  splendor,  and  piety  so  fervent,  may  long  be  continued 
to  be  faithfully  and  assiduously  devoted  to  the  service  of  God 
and  of  your  generation." 

In  the  spring  of  1817,  Dr.  Chalmers  was  elected  to  the  first 
church  in  Sterling,  in  which  his  fatigue  would  have  been  less  and 
his  emoluments  greater  than  in  Glasgow,  but  declined,  on  the 
ground  that  the  field  he  already  occupied  was  the  larger  and  the 
more  necessitous.  The  offer,  however,  contributed  to  induce  his 
friends  in  Glasgow  to  relieve  him  of  those  difficulties  which  had 
hitherto  been  suffered  to  embarrass  his  operations.     They  also 


^T.  87,  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  121 

proposed  to  raise  his  stipends,  to  rent  or  buy  him  a  house  in  any- 
place of  his  own  choosing,  and  to  procure  him  a  regular  assistant 
to  do  half  the  work  on  the  Sabbath,  and  also  to  relieve  him  of 
some  of  the  out-door  work  during  the  week.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, "  allow  things  to  be  carried  to  the  proposed  length.  The 
offer  of  a  manse  and  of  an  increase  of  income,  were  respect- 
fully declined  ;  but  he  gratefully  accepted  the  offer  of  an  as- 
sistant. Additional  labor  would  be  thereby  bestowed  upon 
parochial  cultivation,  while,  at  the  same  time,  additional  leis- 
ure would  be  secured  to  himself  for  literary  engagements. 
His  first  article  on  Pauperism  appeared  in  the  March  number 
of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  and  he  had  engaged  to  follow  it  up 
by  a  comparison  of  the  English  and  Scottish  systems  of  paro- 
chial relief.  His  visit  to  Enoiand,  and  the  larsfe  arrears  of 
ministerial  labor  awaiting  his  return,  filled  up  the  summer 
months  ;  and  there  was  so  little  hope  of  finding  time  enough 
in  Glasgow,  that  he  resolved  on  a  short  excursion  to  An- 
struther,  during  which  his  second  article  was  to  be  drawn  up.'* 
With  this  view,  he  had  got  as  far  as  Kilmany,  on  Saturday, 
the  15th  of  November,  where  he  preached  next  day.  On  his 
way  to  church,  a  letter  was  put  into  his  hands  which  effectu- 
ally broke  up  his  plan.  It  was  a  request  that  he  should  preach 
in  his  own  pulpit  on  the  succeeding  Wednesday,  a  discourse 
appropriate,  to  the  public  calamity  of  the  death  of  the  Princess 
of  Wales,  whose  funeral  services  the  magistrates  of  Glasgow 
had  resolved  to  celebrate  on  that  day.  On  Monday,  accord- 
ingly, he  returned  with  the  utmost  expedition  to  Glasgow, 
where  he  arrived  early  on  Tuesday  morning,  and  on  Wednes- 
day forenoon  preached  one  of  his  most  celebrated  discourses, 
*'  composed  during  the  intervals,  and  after  the  exhaustion  of 
this  rapid  and  fatiguing  journey." 

Some  misrepresentations  of  it  having  appeared  in  the  public 
prints,  the  sermon  was  published  in  self  vindication,  which  its 
appearance  completely  effected. 

With  the  intention  of  finishing  his  article  on  Pauperism, 
Dr.  Chalmers  again,  in  the  month  of  December,  betook  him- 
self to  his  contemplated  retreat  in  Fifeshire,  and  this  time 
11 


122  LIFE  OF  DR.  CHALMERS. 


1817. 


succeeded  in  accomplishing  his  purpose.  His  present  reason  for 
treating  of  that  subject  was  a  conviction  that  the  Enghsh 
method  of  assessment  was  positively  injurious,  and  that  a  val- 
uable service  would  be  rendered  his  own  country  by  repressing 
the  growing  inclination  to  the  adoption  of  such  a  method  there. 
When  he  compared  the  independent  spirit  of  the  Scottish  poor, 
with  the  degradation  of  the  same  class  under  a  system  of  poor- 
rates  ;  contemplated  the  people  in  their  kindly  sympathies, 
their  mutual  and  unforced  contributions  to  each  other's  neces- 
sities, he  naturally  dreaded  any  touch  that  could  profane  that 
spontaneous  benevolence  which  aids  without  impairing  the  no- 
ble feeling  of  self  reliance,  and  which  interferes  with  none  of 
the  humanizing  duties  of  the  filial  relation  ;  and  thus  strongly 
did  he  express  himself  in  view  of  that  relation.  "  We  want 
no  such  ignominy  to  come  near  our  Scottish  population  as  that 
of  farming  our  poor.  We  want  no  other  asylum  for  our  aged 
parents  than  that  of  their  pious  and  affectionate  families.  We 
can  neither  suffer  them,  nor  do  we  like  the  prospect  for  our- 
selves, of  pining  out  the  cheerless  evening  of  our  days  away 
from  the  endearments  of  a  home.  We  wish  to  do  as  long  as 
we  can  without  the  apparatus  of  English  laws  and  English 
workhouses  ;  and  should  like  to  ward  forever  from  our  doors 
the  system  that  would  bring  an  everlasting  interdict  on  the 
worth,  and  independence,  and  genuine  enjoyments  of  our 
peasantry.  We  wish  to  see  their  venerable  sires  surrounded, 
as  heretofore,  by  the  company  and  playfulness  of  their  own 
grandchildren  ;  nor  can  we  bear  to  think  that  our  high-minded 
people  should  sink  down  and  be  satisfied  with  the  dreary 
imprisonment  of  an  almshouse  as  the  closing  object  in  the 
vista  of  their  earthly  anticipations.  Yet  such  is  the  goodly 
upshot  of  a  system  Avhich  has  its  friends  and  advocates  in 
our  own  country  —  men  who  could  witness,  without  a  sigh, 
the  departure  of  all  those  peculiarities  which  have  both  ali- 
mented and  adorned  the  character  of  our  beloved  Scotland  — 
men  who  can  gild  over  with  the  semblance  of  humanity,  a 
poisoned  opiate  of  deepest  injury  both  to  its  happiness  and  to 
its  morals — and  who,  in  the  very  act  of  flattering  the  poor,  are 


^T.  87.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  123 

only  forging  for  them  such  chains  as,  soft  in  feeling  as  silk,  but 
strong  in  proof  as  adamant,  will  bind  them  down  to  a  state  of 
permanent  degradation." 

"Dr.  Chalmers  returned  to  Glasgow  on  Saturday,  the  27th 
of  December,  and  on  the  following  day  found  a  prodigious 
crowd  awaiting  his  appearance  in  the  Tron  church  pulpit. 
His  popularity,  as  a  preacher,  was  now  at  its  very  highest 
summit,  and,  judging  merely  by  the  amount  of  physical 
energy  displayed  by  the  preacher,  and  by  the  palpable  and 
visible  effects  produced  upon  his  hearers,  we  conclude  that 
it  was  about  this  period,  and  within  the  walls  of  the  Tron 
church,  that  by  far  the  most  wonderful  exhibitions  of  his 
power,  as  a  pulpit  orator,  were  witnessed.  '  The  Tron 
church  contains,  if  I  mistake  not,'  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ward- 
law,  who,  as  frequently  as  he  could,  was  a  hearer  in  it, 
•  about  1400  hearers,  according  to  the  ordinary  allowance 
of  seat-room  ;  when  crowded,  of  course,  proportionally  more. 
And  though  I  cannot  attempt  any  pictorial  sketch  of  the 
place,  I  may,  in  a  sentence  or  two,  present  you  with  a  few 
touches  of  the  scene  which  I  have,  more  than  once  or  twice, 
witnessed  within  its  walls  ;  not  that  it  was  at  all  peculiar, 
for  it  resembled  every  other  scene  where  the  doctor  in  those 
days,  when  his  eloquence  was  in  the  prime  of  its  vehemence 
and  splendor,  was  called  to  preach.  There  was  one  par- 
ticular, indeed,  which  rendered  such  a  scene  in  a  city  like 
Glasgow,  peculiarly  striking.  I  refer  to  the  time  of  it.  To 
see  a  place  of  worship,  of  the  size  mentioned,  crammed  above 
and  below,  on  a  Thursday  forenoon,  during  the  busiest  hours 
of  the  day,  with  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  hearers,  and  these 
of  all  descriptions  of  persons,  in  all  descriptions  of  profes- 
sional occupation,  the  busiest  as  well  as  those  who  had  most 
leisure  on  their  hands,  those  who  had  least  to  spare,  taking 
care  so  to  arrange  their  business  engagements  previously  as  to 
make  time  for  the  purpose,  all  pouring  in  through  the  wide  en- 
trance at  the  side  of  the  Tron  steeple,  half  an  hour  before  the 
time  of  service,  to  secure  a  seat,  or  content,  if  too  late  for  this, 
to  occupy,  as   many  did,  standing  room — this  was,  indeed,  a 


124  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1817. 

novel  and  strange  sight.  Nor  was  it  once,  merely,  or  twice, 
but  month  after  month  the  day  was  calculated  when  his  turn  to 
preach  again  was  to  come  round,  and  anticipated,  with  even 
impatient  longing,  by  multitudes." 

"  Suppose  the  congregation  thus  assembled  —  pews  filled 
with  sitters,  and  aisles,  to  a  great  extent,  with  standers. 
They  wait  in  eager  expectation.  The  preacher  appears. 
The  devotional  exercises  of  praise  and  prayer  having  been 
gone  through  with  unaffected  simplicity  and  earnestness, 
the  entire  assembly  set  themselves  for  the  treat,  with  feelings 
very  diverse  in  kind,  but  all  eager  and  intent.  There  is  a 
hush  of  dead  silence.  The  text  is  announced,  and  he  begins. 
Every  countenance  is  up  —  every  eye  bent,  with  fixed  intent- 
ness  on  the  speaker.  As  he  kindles,  the  interest  grows. 
Every  breath  is  held  —  every  cough  is  suppressed  —  every 
fidgety  movement  is  settled  — •  every  one  riveted  himself  by 
the  spell  of  the  impassioned  and  entrancing  eloquence,  knows 
how  sensitively  his  neighbor  will  resent  the  very  slightest  dis- 
turbance. Then,  by-and-by,  there  is  a  pause.  The  speaker 
stops — to  gather  breath — to  wipe  his  forehead  — to  adjust  his 
gown,  and  purposely,  too,  and  wisely,  to  give  the  audience,  as 
well  as  himself,  a  moment  or  two  of  relaxation.  The  moment 
is  embraced  —  there  is  a  free  breathing  —  suppressed  coughs 
get  vent — postures  are  changed  —  there  is  a  universal  stir,  as 
of  persons  who  could  not  have  endured  the  constraint  much 
longer — the  preacher  bends  forward  —  his  hand  is  raised  —  all 
is  again  hushed.  The  same  stillness  and  strain  of  unrelaxed 
attention  is  repeated,  more  intent  still,  it  may  be,  than  before, 
as  the  interest  of  the  subject  and  the  speaker  advance, 
and  so,  for  perhaps  four  or  five  times  in  the  course  of  a  ser- 
mon, there  is  the  relaxation,  and  the  *  at  it  again,'  till  the  final 
winding  up. 

"  And  then,  the  moment  the  last  word  was  uttered,  and 
followed  by  the — *  let  us  pray,'  there  was  a  scene  for  which 
no  excuse  or  palhation  can  be  pleaded  but  the  fact  of  its 
having  been  to  many  a  matter  of  difficulty,  in  the  morning 
of  a  week-day,  to  accomphsh  the  abstraction  of  even  so  much 


^T.    37.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  125 

of  their  time  from  business  —  the  closing  prayer  completely- 
drowned  by  the  hurried  rush  of  large  numbers  from  the 
aisles  and  pews  to  the  door  ;  an  unseemly  scene,  without 
doubt,  as  if  so  many  had  come  to  the  house  of  God  not  to 
worship,  but  simply  to  enjoy  the  fascination  of  human  elo- 
quence. Even  this  much  it  was  a  great  thing  for  eloquence 
to  accomplish.  And  how  diversified  soever  the  motives 
which  drew  so  many  together,  and  the  emotions  awakened 
and  impressions  produced  by  what  was  heard  —  though, 
in  the  terms  of  the  text,  of  one  of  his  most  overpoweringly 
stirring  and  faithful  appeals,  he  was  to  not  a  few  '  as  one 
that  had  a  pleasant  voice  and  could  play  w^ell  on  an  instru- 
ment,' yet  there  is  abundant  proof  that,  in  the  highest  sense, 
'  his  labor  was  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord  ;'  that  the  truths  which, 
with  so  much  fearless  fidelity  and  impassioned  earnestness,  he 
delivered,  went  in  many  instances  farther  than  the  ear,  or  even 
the  intellect  —  that  they  reached  the  heart,  and,  by  the  power 
of  the  Spirit,  turned  it  to  God." 

*'  On  Thursday,  the  12th  of  February,  1818,"  I  now  quote 
from  a  manuscript  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fraser,  minister  of  Kilchren- 
nan,  '  Dr.  Chalmers  preached  in  the  Tron  church  before  the 
Directors  of  the  Magdalene  Asylum.  The  sermon  delivered 
on  this  occasion  was  that  '  On  the  Dissipation  of  Large  Cities.' 
Long  before  the  service  commenced  every  seat  and  passage 
was  crowded  to  excess,  with  the  exception  of  the  front  pew  of 
the  gallery,  which  was  reserved  for  the  magistrates.  A  vast 
number  of  students  deserted  their  classes  at  the  university  and 
were  present.  This  was  very  particularly  the  case  in  regard 
to  the  moral  philosophy  class,  which  I  attended  that  session, 
as  appeared  on  the  following  day  when  the  list  of  absentees 
was  given  in  by  the  person  who  had  called  the  catalogue,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  petition  from  several  of  themselves  was 
handed  in  to  the  professor,  praying  for  a  remission  of  the  fine 
for  non-attendance,  on  the  ground  that  they  had  been  hearing 
Dr.  Chalmers.  The  doctor's  manner  during  the  whole  delivery 
of  that  magnificent  discourse  was  strikingly  animated,  while 
the  enthusiasm  and   snergy  which  he  threw  into  some  of  its 


126  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1818. 

bursts  rendered  them  quite  overpowering.  One  expression 
which  he  used,  together  with  his  action,  his  look,  and  the  very- 
tones  of  his  voice  when  it  came  forth,  made  a  most  vivid  and 
indehble  impression  upon  my  memory :  '  We,  at  the  same 
time,'  he  said,  *  have  our  eye  perfectly  open  to  that  great  ex- 
ternal improvement  which  has  taken  place,  of  late  years,  in 
the  manners  of  society.  There  is  not  the  same  grossness  of 
conversation.  There  is  not  the  same  impatience  for  the 
withdrawment  of  him  who,  asked  to  grace  the  outset  of  an 
assembled  party,  is  compelled,  at  a  certain  step  in  the  process 
of  conviviality,  by  the  obligations  of  professional  decency,  to 
retire  from  it.  There  is  not  so  frequent  an  exaction  of  this  as 
one  of  the  established  proprieties  of  social  or  of  fashionable 
life.  And  if  such  an  exaction  was  ever  laid  by  the  omnipo- 
tence of  custom  on  a  minister  of  Christianity,  it  is  such  an 
exaction  as  ought  never,  never  to  be  complied  with.  It  is  not 
for  him  to  lend  the  sanction  of  his  presence  to  a  meeting  with 
which  he  could  not  sit  to  its  final  termination.  It  is  not  for 
him  to  stand  associated,  for  a  single  hour,  with  an  assemblage 
of  men  who  begin  with  hypocrisy,  and  end  with  downright 
blackguardism.  It  is  not  for  him  to  watch  the  progress  of  the 
coming  ribaldry,  and  to  hit  the  well-selected  moment  when 
talk  and  turbulence  and  boisterous  merriment  are  on  the  eve 
of  bursting  forth  upon  the  company,  and  carrying  them  for- 
ward to  the  full  acme  and  uproar  of  their  enjoyment.  It  is 
quite  in  vain  to  say,  that  he  has  only  sanctioned  one  part  of 
such  an  entertainment.  He  has  as  good  as  given  his  conniv- 
ance to  the  whole  of  it,  and  left  behind  him  a  discharge  in  full 
of  all  its  abominations  ;  and,  therefore,  be  they  who  they  may, 
whether  they  rank  among  the  proudest  aristocracy  of  our  land, 
or  are  charioted  in  splendor  along,  as  the  wealthiest  of  our 
citizens,  or  Jiounce  in  the  robes  of  magistracy,  it  is  his  part  to 
keep  as  purely  and  indignantly  aloof  from  such  society  as  this, 
as  he  would  from  the  vilest  and  most  debasing  associations  of 
profligacy.' 

"  The  words  which  I  have  underlined  do  not  appear  in  the 
sermon  as  printed.     While  uttering  them,  which  he  did  with 


JET.  87.  LIFE* OF    DE.    CHALMERS.  127 

peculiar  emphasis,  accompanying  them  Avith  a  flash  from  his 
eye  and  a  stamp  of  his  foot,  he  threw  his  right  arm  with 
clenched  hand  right  across  the  book-board,  and  brandished  it 
full  in  the  face  of  the  Town  Council,  sitting  in  array  and  in 
state  before  him.  Many  eyes  were  in  a  moment  directed  to- 
ward the  magistrates.  The  words  evidently  fell  upon  them 
like  a  thunderbolt,  and  seemed  to  startle  like  an  electric  shock 
the  whole  audience. 

"  Another  interesting  memorial  of  this  sermon  is  supplied 
by  Dr.  Wardlaw,  who  was  present  at  its  delivery.  '  The  elo- 
quence of  that  discourse  was  absolutely  overpowering.  The 
subject  was  one  eminently  fitted  to  awaken  and  summon  to 
their  utmost  energy  all  his  extraordinary  powers  ;  especially 
when,  after  having  cleared  his  ground  by  a  luminously  scrip- 
tural exhibition  of  that  supreme  authority  by  which  the  evils 
he  was  about  to  portray  were  interdicted,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  prevailing  maxims  and  practices  of  a  worldly  morality, 
he  came  forward  to  the  announcement  and  illustration  of  his 
main  subject — '  the  origin,  the  2^rogress,  and  the  effects  of  a  life 
of  dissipation.'  His  moral  portraitures  were  so  graphic- 
ally and  vividly  delineated  —  his  warnings  and  entreaties, 
especially  to  youth,  so  impassioned  and  earnest  —  his  admo- 
nitions so  faithful,  and  his  denunciations  so  fearless  and 
so  fearful — and  his  exhortations  to  preventive  and  remedial 
appliances  so  pointed  and  so  urgent  to  all  among  his  auditors 
who  had  either  the  charge  of  j^outh,  or  the  supervision  of  de- 
pendents !  It  was  thrilHng,  overwhelming.  His  whole  soul 
seemed  in  every  utterance.  Altlwugh  saying  to  myself  all  the 
while,  *  Oh  !  that  this  were  in  the  hands  of  every  father,  and 
master,  and  guardian,  and  young  man  in  the  land  !'  I  yet 
could  not  spare  an  eye  from  the  preacher  to  mark  how  his 
appeal  Avas  telling  upon  others.  The  breathless,  the  appalling 
silence  told  me  of  that.  Any  person  who  reads  that  discourse, 
and  who  had  the  privilege  of  listening  to  Dr.  Chalmers  during 
the  prime  and  freshness  of  his  pubhc  eloquence,  will  readily 
imagine  the  effect  of  some  passages  in  it,  when  delivered  with 
even  more  than  the  preacher's  characteristic  vehemence. 


128  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1818. 

"  The  wish  that  haunted  my  mind  during  the  discourse  went 
home  with  me  ;  and  in  bed  that  night  the  thought  came  across 
me,  that  I  might  write  to  him,  and  respectfully  but  earnestly 
suggest  the  desirableness  of  having  such  an  appeal  put  into 
circulation.  I  did  so,  and  while  I  expressed  strongly  my 
delight  and  my  wishes,  I  ventured  at  the  same  time,  with  all 
due  diffidence,  to  hint  the  desirableness,  were  the  discourse  to 
appear  thus  by  itself,  of  his  introducing  at  the  close,  in  his 
own  style,  a  statement  of  that  gospel  —  that  scheme  and 
message  of  divine  mercy — by  which  *  the  wrath  of  God  which 
Cometh  on  the  children  of  disobedience,'  of  which  his  text  had 
led  him  to  speak,  was  to  be  escaped,  and  His  favor  and  for- 
giveness to  be  obtained  ;  a  statement  which  would  perfect  the 
fitness  of  the  appeal  for  the  ends  to  be  answered  by  its 
circulation." 

To  the  note  written  in  pursuance  of  this  purpose  Dr.  Chal- 
mers answered  by  kindly  but  firmly  dechning  the  suggestion 
for  publication. 

"In  the  afternoon  of  Sabbath  the  22d  March,  1818,"  we 
now  resume  Mr.  Eraser's  memoranda,  "  Dr.  Chalmers  preached 
in  the  college  chapel.  It  being  publicly  known  a  few  days 
previously  that  he  was  to  do  so,  the  college  courts  became 
crowded  with  students  and  others  not  connected  with  the  uni- 
versity about  an  hour  before  the  commencement  of  the  service. 
So  soon  as  the  doors  were  opened,  the  rush  toward  them  was 
tremendous.  I  was  in  the  stream  that  was  flowing  in  by  the 
main  entrance,  and  made  good  progress  until  I  got  within  the 
door,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  great  pressure  behind,  I 
was  suddenly  thrown  out  of  the  current  as  I  had  almost 
reached  the  foot  of  the  hanging  spiral  staircase  leading  to 
the  chapel,  and  so  compact  was  the  mass  that  was  pouring 
on,  that  all  my  efforts  to  wedge  myself  into  it  were  vain. 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  do  what 
might  have  led  to  very  serious  consequences.  I  ascended 
sideway  on  the  outside  of  the  rails,  holding  on  with  a  death- 
grasp  of  them  at  every  step,  and  upon  reaching  the  top,  had 
no  little  difficulty,   even  with  the  assistance  I   received,   in 


^T.    38.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  129 

getting  over  them,  so  dense  was  the  crowd.  The  sermon 
preached  by  Dr.  Chalmers  was  the  one  entitled  '  The  judg- 
ment of  men  compared  with  the  judgment  of  God.'  I  had  a 
complete  view  of  the  professors'  bench  directly  opposite  to  the 
pulpit.  It  was  quite  full,  and  had  a  very  imposing  appear- 
ance. Every  eye  in  it  was  intently  fixed  upon  the  preacher. 
But  there  was  one  individual  who  formed  a  very  prominent 
object  in  the  group  —  Mr.  Young,  professor  of  Greek.  The 
magic  of  the  doctor's  eloquence  told  most  powerfully  on  him. 
He  was  evidently  fascinated  and  enraptured.  The  expression 
of  his  fine  countenance  more  than  once  indicated  intense  emo- 
tion. During  the  delivery  of  the  peroration  he  was  overpow- 
ered and  in  tears. 

**  On  Sabbath  evening  in  the  Tron  church  Dr.  Chalmers 
preached  from  Proverbs  i,  29.  The  power  of  the  oratory,  and 
the  force  of  the  delivery  were  at  times  extraordinary.  At 
length,  when  near  the  close  of  the  sermon,  all  on  a  sudden  his 
eloquence  gathered  triple  force,  and  came  down  in  one  mighty 
whirlwind,  sweeping  all  before  it.  Never  can  I  forget  my  feel- 
ings at  the  time,  neither  can  I  describe  them.  'And  what,'  he 
said,  warning  us  against  all  hope  in  a  death-bed  repentance, 
*  what,  we  would  ask,  is  the  scene  in  which  you  are  now  pur- 
posing to  contest  it  with  all  this  mighty  force  of  opposition  you 
are  now  so  busy  in  raising  up  against  you  ?  What  is  the  field 
of  combat  to  which  you  are  now  looking  forward  as  the  place 
where  you  are  to  accomplish  a  victory  over  all  those  formidable 
enemies  whom  you  are  at  present  arming  with  such  a  weight 
of  hostility  as,  we  say,  within  a  single  hair-breadth  of  certainty, 
you  will  find  to  be  irresistible  ?  Oh  the  folly  of  such  a  mis- 
leading infatuation  !  The  proposed  scene  in  which  this  battle 
for  eternity  is  to  be  fought,  and  this  victory  for  the  crown  of 
glory  is  to  be  won,  is  a  death-bed.  It  is  when  the  last  mes- 
senger stands  by  the  couch  of  the  dying  man,  and  shakes  at 
him  the  terrors  of  his  grisly  countenance,  that  the  poor  child 
of  infatuation  thinks  he  is  to  struggle  and  prevail  against  all 
his  enemies — against  the  unrelenting  tyranny  of  habit — against 
the  obstinacy  of  his  own  heart,  which  he  is  now  doing  so  much 


130  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1818 

to  harden — against  the  Spirit  of  God,  who  perhaps  long  ere 
now  has  pronounced  the  doom  upon  him.  *  He  will  take  his 
own  way,  and  walk  in  his  own  counsel ;  I  shall  cease  from 
striving,  and  let  him  alone' — against  Satan,  to  whom  every- 
day of  his  life  he  has  given  some  fresh  advantage  over  him, 
and  who  will  not  be  willing  to  lose  the  victim  on  whom  he  has 
practiced  so  many  wiles,  and  plied  with  success  so  many  delu- 
sions. And  such  are  the  enemies  whom  you  who  wretchedly 
calculate  on  the  repentance  of  the  eleventh  hour  are  every  day 
mustering  up  in  greater  force  and  formidableness  against  you ; 
and  how  can  we  think  of  letting  you  go  with  any  other  repent- 
ance than  the  repentance  of  the  precious  moment  that  is  now 
passing  over  you,  when  we  look  forward  to  the  horrors  of  that 
impressive  scene  on  which  you  propose  to  win  the  prize  of  im- 
mortality, and  to  contest  it  single-handed  and  alone,  with  all 
the  weight  of  opposition  which  you  have  accumulated  against 
yourselves — a  deathbed — a  languid,  breathless,  tossing,  and 
agitated  deathbed ;  that  scene  of  feebleness,  when  the  poor 
man  cannot  help  himself  to  a  single  mouthful— when  he  must 
have  attendants  to  sit  around  him,  and  watch  his  every  wish, 
and  interpret  his  every  signal,  and  turn  him  to  every  posture 
where  he  may  find  a  moment's  ease,  and  wipe  away  the  cold 
sweat  that  is  running  over  him,  and  ply  him  with  cordials  for 
thirst,  and  sickness,  and  insufferable  languor.  And  this  is  the 
time,  when  occupied  with  such  feelings  and  beset  with  such 
agonies  as  these,  you  propose  to  crowd  within  the  compass  of 
a  few  wretched  days  the  work  of  winding  up  the  concerns  of  a 
neglected  eternity  !" 

"It  was  a  transcendently  grand  —  a  glorious  burst.  The 
energy  of  the  doctor's  action  corresponded.  Intense  emotion 
beamed  from  his  countenance.  I  cannot  describe  the  appear- 
ance of  his  face  better  than  by  saying,  as  Foster  said  of  Hall's, 
it  was  '  lighted  up  almost  into  a  glare.'  The  congregation,  in 
so  far  as  the  spell  under  which  I  was,  allowed  me  to  observe 
them,  were  intensely  excited,  leaning  forward  in  the  pews  like 
a  forest  bending  under  the  power  of  the  hurricane  —  looking 
steadfastly  at  the  preacher,  and  listening  in  breathless  wonder- 


MT.  33.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  131 

ment.  One  young  man,  apparently  by  his  dress  a  sailor,  who 
sat  in  a  pew  before  me,  started  to  his  feet,  and  stood  till  it  was 
over.  So  soon  as  it  was  concluded,  there  was  (as  invariably 
was  the  case  at  the  close  of  the  doctor's  bursts)  a  deep  sigh, 
or  rather  gasp  for  breath,  accompanied  by  a  movement  through 
the  whole  audience. 

**  On  another  Sabbath  evening  a  scene  occurred  which  I 
shall  never  forget.  About  an  hour  before  the  service  com- 
menced all  the  seats  were  occupied.  A  broad  passage  runs 
through  the  area  of  the  church  from  the  main  inner  door  to 
the  pulpit.  This  passage  it  was  intended  should  be  kept 
vacant  upon  the  present  occasion  for  the  better  ventilation  of 
the  house.  So  soon,  therefore,  as  the  pews  which  entered 
from  it  (in  one  of  which  I  sat)  were  filled,  the  door,  consisting 
of  two  leaves,  was  bolted  from  within.  Very  soon  all  the 
other  passages  above  and  below  were  crowded  to  overflowing. 
A  dense  mass  was  by  this  time  congregated  in  the  lobby, 
many  of  whom  observed  through  the  windows  of  a  partition 
wall  which  ran  between  the  lobby  and  the  interior  of  the 
church  that  the  middle  passage  was  empty.  Those  in  the 
background,  who  could  not  themselves  observe  this,  were 
made  immediately  aware  of  it.  They  all  became  very  clamor- 
ous for  admission,  and  many  a  good  thump  did  the  door 
receive.  Those  in  charge  of  it,  however,  having  got,  as  was 
said,  positive  orders  to  keep  the  passage  clear,  were  inexora- 
ble. Matters  went  on  in  this  manner  until  the  bell  com- 
menced, which  seemed  to  be  the  signal  for  increased  clamor 
and  importunity  on  the  part  of  the  crowd  without.  At 
length  the  door  began  to  creak.  The  bell  ceased.  The  beadle 
entered  the  pulpit  with  the  bible.  All  was  still  for  a  few 
moments.  Every  eye  within  sight  of  the  vestry-door  was 
anxiously  fixed  upon  it  to  see  who  would  appear,  lest  it  might 
not  be  the  doctor,  as  he  had  on  more  occasions  than  one  sadly 
disappointed  the  congregation.  No  sooner,  however,  w^as  he 
observed  entering  the  church,  than  an  expression  of  intense 
delight  rustled  very  perceptibly  through  the  house.  There 
was  actually  (I  do  not  exaggerate)  a  movement  of  the  whole 


132  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1818. 

congregation.  At  this  moment  a  crash  at  the  passage-door 
was  heard  ;  crash  after  crash  followed  in  rapid  succession, 
intermingled  Avith  screams  from  the  outer  porch,  chiefly  from 
terrified  females.  Two  of  the  door-keepers  who  were  stand- 
ing in  the  passage  rushed  to  the  door,  which  was  evidently- 
yielding,  to  prevent,  if  possible,  its  being  forced  in.  They 
quickly  retreated,  seeing,  as  they  did  at  once,  that  neither 
door  nor  door-keepers  could  withstand  the  pressure.  The  door 
immediately  gave  way  with  a  thundering  noise,  one  of  the 
leaves  torn  from  its  hinges  and  trampled  under  foot,  the  rush 
was  tremendous.  In  one  instant  the  whole  vacant  space  in 
front  of  the  pulpit  was  crammed,  and  the  torrent  flowed  on, 
flowing  into  and  filling  to  its  very  end  at  the  vestry-door  the 
passage  through  which  the  doctor  had  just  entered.  The 
occurrence  grieved,  and  for  a  little  while  discomposed  him, 
and  upon  rising  to  begin  the  service,  he  administered  a  sharp 
and  impassioned  rebuke  to  the  parties  involved  in  it." 

"  Dr.  Wardlaw,  who  was  present  on  this  occasion,  also  in- 
forms us,  *  I  stepped  into  the  vestry  at  the  dismission  of  the 
congregation,  and  walked  home  with  him,  our  dwellings  lying 
in  the  same  direction.  On  the  way  home  we  talked,  inter  allay 
of  this  occurrence.  He  expressed,  in  his  pithy  manner,  his 
great  anno3''ance  at  such  crowds.  *  I  preached  the  same  ser- 
mon,' said  he,  'in  the  morning;  and  for  the  very  purpose  of 
preventing  the  oppressive  annoyance  of  such  a  densely  crowded 
place,  I  intimated  that  I  should  preach  it  again  in  the  evening  ;* 
and  with  the  most  ingenuous  guilelessness,  he  added,  '  Have 
you  ever  tried  that  plan  V  I  did  not  smile — I  laughed  out- 
right. *  No,  no,'  I  replied,  '  my  good  friend,  there  are  but 
very  few  of  us  that  are  under  the  necessity  of  having  recourse 
to  the  use  of  means  for  getting  thin  audiences.'  He  enjoyed 
the  joke,  and  he  felt,  though  he  modestly  disowned  the  com- 
pliment.' " 

In  the  beginning  of  this  period  of  unbounded  popularity  his 
journal  presents  evidence  of  a  deep  feeling  of  unworthiness, 
and  of  imperfect  service  of  his  master  ;  and  the  same  is  mani- 
fested in  an  incident  related  of  him  about  two  years  after  his 


^T.  88.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  133 

removal  to  Glasgow.  *' At  the  time  I  allude  to,'*  says  J. 
Wright,  Esq.,  "  Dr.  Chalmers  had  been  preaching  in  the  Bar- 
ony church  for  the  venerable  Dr.  Burns,  on  the  Monday  after 
the  communion,  which  was  in  the  suburban  districts,  about  two 
months  after  the  time  of  its  celebration  in  the  town  churches. 
As  was  customary  on  such  occasions,  Dr.  Burns  invited  the 
ministers  who  had  assisted  him,  and  some  of  his  elders  and 
friends,  to  dinner  on  the  Monday.  I  was  on  that  day  one  of 
the  party,  and  I  was  exceedingly  disappointed  to  see  that  Dr. 
Chalmers,  who,  in  ordinary  times,  poured  a  fascinating  influ- 
ence over  every  company  where  he  was,  seemed  extremely 
dull,  nay,  I  may  say,  dejected.  When  he  arose,  about  nine 
o'clock,  to  go  away,  as  our  tract  homeward  lay  for  some  distance 
in  the  same  direction,  I  left  the  company  along  with  him. 
When  we  had  got  together,  I  said  to  the  doctor,  *  Are  you 
well  enough  to-day,  doctor  ?  For  I  have  noticed  you  have  not 
to-day  been  in  your  usual  trim.'  *  Oh,  yes,'  he  said,  *  I  am 
quite  in  good  health,  but  I  am  not  comfortable.  I  am  grieved 
in  my  mind.'  Seeing  that  he  so  frankly  communicated  to  me 
the  general  cause  of  his  unusual  appearance,  I  used  the  freedom 
to  say,  '  Well,  doctor,  is  this  a  matter  that  I  may  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  ?  if  it  is  not,  I  have  no  wish  to  pry  into  any- 
thing of  a  private  nature.'  *  Oh,  yes.'  he  replied,  '  you  may 
perfectly  know  it,  for  it  is  a  matter  that  presses  very  grievously 
upon  me.  In  short,  the  truth  is,'  said  he  in  his  own  emphatic 
manner,  '  I  have  mistaken  the  way  of  my  duty  to  God  in  at  all 
coming  to  your  city.  I  am  doing  no  good.  God  has  not 
blessed,  and  is  not  blessing,  my  ministry  here.'  On  hearing 
this,  I  replied,  '  Well,  doctor,  it  is  a  very  remarkable  circum- 
stance that,  in  the  providence  of  God,  you  should  have  been 
sent  with  your  complaint  to  me  on  this  point,  because  I  have  it 
in  my  powder  at  any  rate  to  mention  one  instance  in  which  your 
ministry  has  been  made  instrumental  in  bringing  a  soul  from 
darkness  to  the  marvelous  light  of  the  gospel  of  salvation.' 
'  Can  you  ?'  said  he,  *  then  you  will  give  me  the  best  news  I 
have  heard  since  I  came  among  you.'  I  then  narrated  to  him 
the  following  particulars  : 


134  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1818. 

**  At  the  time  this  took  place  I  was  an  elder  under  the  late 
venerated  Dr.  Balfour,  minister  of  the  Outer  High  Church, 
whose  practice  it  w^as,  when  he  read  over  the  names  of  those 
who  were  applying  for  admission  to  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's 
supper,  to  give  us  so  much  of  their  history  and  experience  as 
he  had  been  in  conversation  with  them  able  to  discover,  and  to 
request  that  some  of  the  elders  might,  as  far  as  possible,  scru- 
tinize further,  and  communicate  to  him  the  result.  I  well  re- 
member, at  the  sacrament,  which  in  the  town  churches  is 
always  solemnized  in  the  month  of  April,  he  mentioned  the 
name  of  a  young  man  w^ho  had  applied  to  be  a  communicant. 
After  he  had  read  over  his  name  *  By-the-by,'  said  the  good 
servant  of  the  Lord,  '  I  must  tell  you  something  about  this 
young  man,  for  his  history  is  somewhat  interesting  and  singu- 
lar. He  sat,'  said  Dr.  Balfour,  *  for  nearly  twenty  years  under 
my  ministry,  but  did  not  appear  to  derive  any  good  from  it ; 
but  when  my  worthy  friend,  Dr.  Chalmers  (for  that  was  the 
almost  uniform  designation  he  gave  him  when  he  had  occasion 
to  speak  of  him),  'came  to  Glasgow,  he  was  attracted  to  him 
by  his  splendid  talents,  and  sat  under  his  ministry  for  about 
two  years,  and  then  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  come  to  him  in  the 
day  of  his  power ;  and  I  have  every  reason  to  think  him  a 
truly  converted  young  man.  And  now  that  he  wishes  to  be- 
come a  member  of  the  church  he  wishes  to  return  to  us.  But,* 
added  Dr.  Balfour,  with  a  truly  sublime  humility,  '  it  was  not 
under  my  ministry  that  he  was  turned  to  the  Lord,  though  he 
sat  for  the  greater  part  of  his  lifetime  in  the  Outer  Church  ; 
but  it  was  under  the  preaching  of  Dr.  Chalmers.' 

"  You  know  what  was  Dr,  Chalmers's  ardent  manner  when 
anything  that  related  to  the  glory  of  Christ's  kingdom,  or  to 
the  spiritual  good  of  his  fellow-creatures,  was  made  known  to 
him  ;  but  you  may  easily  conceive  with  what  exuberant  joy  he 
heard  this  simple  annal  of  the  good  done  through  his  pastoral 
superintendence.  *  Ah  !'  said  he,  '  Mr.  Wright,  what  blessed, 
what  comforting  news  you  give  me  ;  I  knew  it  not ;  but  it 
strengthens  me  ;  for  really  I   was  beginning  to  fail,  from  an 


MT.  88.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  135 

apprehension  that  I  had  not  been  acting  according  to  the  will 
of  God  in  coming  to  your  city.' 

*'  At  a  still  later  period  of  his  Glasgow  ministry,  and  after 
knowing,  by  a  painful  experience,  how  many  bitter  ingredients 
are  often  mixed  in  the  cup  of  human  applause,  urging  his 
agencies  to  increased  activity  in  that  home- walk  of  private  be- 
nevolence, in  which  '  they  could  earn,  if  not  a  proud,  at  least 
a  peaceful  popularity — the  popularity  of  the  heart — the  only 
popularity  that  is  worth  the  aspiring  after  —  the  popularity 
that  is  won  in  the  bosom  of  families  and  at  the  side  of  death- 
beds— he  could  not  help  pouring  out  his  own  later  experience 
in  these  words  :  '  There  is  another,  a  high  and  a  far-sounding 
popularity,  which  is  indeed  a  most  worthless  article,  felt  by 
all  who  have  it  most  to  be  greatly  more  oppressive  than  grati- 
fying— a  popularity  of  stare,,  and  pressure,  and  animal  heat, 
and  a  whole  tribe  of  other  annoyances  which  it  brings  around 
the  person  of  its  unfortunate  victim,  a  popularity  which  rifles 
home  of  its  sweets,  and  by  elevating  man  above  his  fellows, 
places  him  in  a  region  of  desolation,  where  the  intimacies  of 
human  fellowship  are  unfelt,  and  where  he  stands  a  conspicu- 
ous mark  for  the  shafts  of  malice,  and  envy,  and  detraction — 
a  popularity  which,  with  its  head  among  storms  and  its  feet  on 
the  treacherous  quicksands,  has  nothing  to  lull  the  agonies  of 
its  tottering  existence  but  the  hosannas  of  a  driveling  gen- 
eration.' " 

Intelligence  of  his  father's  declining  health  induced  Dr. 
Chalmers  to  take  his  family  to  Anstruther,  to  spend  the  sum- 
mer months  of  1818;  and  leaving  them  there,  he  returned 
to  the  scene  of  his  labors.  Daily  correspondence  was  kept  up 
with  them  by  means  of  those  journal-letters  which  he  con- 
stantly wrote  to  Mrs.  Chalmers,  whenever  separated  from  her 
for  more  than  a  few  days.  On  Friday,  the  17th  July,  his 
father  had  an  attack  of  paralysis.  Intelligence  was  imme- 
diately dispatched  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  arrived  in  time  to 
watch  over  the  last  hours  of  his  father's  life.  On  the  morning 
of  the  26th  of  July,  he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Morton  : 

**  My  dearest   Jane: — The  life  of  our  revered   father  was 


136  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1818. 

just  lengthened  out  to  half-past  two  this  moraing.  He  was 
permitted  just  to  touch,  as  it  were,  one  Sabbath  more  on  earth 
ere  he  was  transported  to  that  everlasting  Sabbath,  among  the 
worshipers  of  which  he  is  now  sitting  in  blessedness  and  in 
glory 

"  There  was  not  much  of  the  suffering  of  death,  save  the 
weariness  and  languor  of  dying.  He  ceased,  we  thought,  to 
take  an  interest  in  what  we  said  for  about  thirty  hours  before 
his  death.  We  all  sat  up  two  nights  in  hourly  expectation  of 
the  event,  but  it  was  postponed,  and  the  transition  made 
gentler  in  consequence.  He  calmly  breathed  his  last,  and  his 
departing  spirit  has  left  a  most  saintly  expression  behind  it." 

During  the  same  day,  he  also  wrote  to  his  brothers,  Patrick 
and  James,  endeavoring  to  impress  upon  their  minds  the  spir- 
itual lesson  of  their  pious  father's  life  and  death.  For  about 
two  weeks  after  this  event,  he  remained  with  his  mother  and 
family,  and  "was  then  obliged  to  plunge  once  more  into  the 
vortex  at  Glasgow." 


CHAPTER   IX. 

During  the  winter  of  1818-19,  Dr.  Chalmers  added  to  his 
other  labors  the  preparation  of  a  volume  of  congregational 
sermons,  of  which  a  large  edition  was  published  in  February, 
1819.  On  the  24th  of  April  of  that  year,  he  wrote  thus  :  "I 
never  kept  so  close  by  Glasgow,  nor  worked  so  hard  in  it  as 
during  this  last  winter.  I  have  now  preached  twenty-nine 
Sabbaths,  without  intermission,  in  the  Tron  church,  and  that 
without  a  stated  assistant,  though  I  have  occasionally  got  as- 
sistance for  half  a  day." 

He  was  anxious  to  complete  the  execution  of  his  projects 
there,  inasmuch  as  he  already  entertained  others  of  greater 
variety  in  behalf  of  a  more  destitute  population.  A  new  city 
parish  had  been  recently  erected  in  a  quarter  inhabited  chiefly 
by  operatives,  and  embracing  about  ten  thousand  souls.  There 
was  a  propriety  in  calling  the  great  advocate  of  church  exten- 
sion and  of  religious  instruction  of  the  poor  to  this  charge  ; 
and  the  very  fact  that  it  embraced  a  large  number  of  the  poor- 
est families  in  Glasgow  was  a  strong  motive  with  Dr.  Chal- 
mers for  accepting  it ;  but  another  conspiring  therewith  was 
the  freedom  w^hich  was  guaranteed  to  him  in  carrying  out  all 
those  schemes  of  reformation  in  which  he  had  been  hitherto  so 
much  thwarted  by  established  customs. 

Accordingly  on  the  5th  of  June,  1818,  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
elected,  by  the  magistrates  and  town  council,  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  new  parish  of  St.  John's.  The  actual  transfer, 
however,  was  not  made  until  the  following  year,  owing  to  un- 
expected delay  in  finishing  the  church  edifice.  In  the  month 
of  June,  1819,  he  writes  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Erskine,  of  Linla- 
then,  "  Sabbath  first  being  the  30th,  is  the  last  of  my  connec- 
tion with  the  Tron  church,  and  as  the  church  of  St.  John's  is 
not  yet  ready  for  me,  I  am  counting  upon  the  interval  of  a 
good  many  weeks,  during  which  I  propose  to  expatiate  among 
12  a''^7) 


138  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1S19. 

my  friends  in  the  country.  My  arrangements  are  going  on 
most  prosperously.  I  have  now  got  thirty-five  gentlemen  and 
three  lady  teachers.  I  have  also  completed  the  survey  of  my 
parish,  and  have  still  150  Sabbath-scholars  to  provide  with 
teachers,  beside  an  indefinite  number  of  female  teachers  to 
look  out  for.  Amid  great  physical  distress  and  many  difficul- 
ties among  our  population,  it  gives  me  comfort  to  think  of  an 
operation  which  I  am  sure  alleviates,  even  at  present,  the  bur- 
den which  is  upon  their  spirits,  and  will,  I  trust  and  pray, 
have  fruit  in  eternity. 

*'  I  can  not  tell  you  how  truly  grateful  I  am  for  all  you 
write  and  all  you  say  on  theological  subjects.  You  have  given 
most  useful  direction  to  my  own  mind,  and  I  have  endeavored 
in  some  of  my  later  pulpit  demonstrations  to  press  home  the 
lesson  of  salvation  and  spiritual  health,  being  sjmonymous 
with  each  other.  It  is  truly  excellent  what  you  say  of  not 
waiting  at  the  pool.  Be  assured  that  many  render  the  method 
of  setting  out  on  the  business  of  Christianity  so  mystical  and 
so  separate  from  human  agency,  and  so  scrupulously  remote 
from  all  that  man  can  will  or  do  in  the  matter,  as  absolutely 
to  discourage  him  even  from  going  to  the  pool,  even  from  open- 
ing his  Bible,  even  from  directing  his  thoughts  to  the  subject 
of  it,  even  from  hearing  what  Christ  has  got  to  say  to  him,  and 
turning  to  its  obvious  application  and  purpose  the  plainest  and 
most  palpable  of  His  requirements.  Believe  me,  my  dear  sir, 
yours  very  truly, 

"  Thomas  Chalmers." 

In  order  to  recruit  his  strength,  exhausted  by  the  unremit- 
ting labor  of  the  preceding  winter  and  spring,  he  went  to  spend 
a  few  days  near  the  mineral  waters  of  Dunblane.  We  are 
presented  with  a  very  precious  fragment  of  a  letter  written  by 

him,  while  there,  to   Mr.  Erskine "I  feel  my  want  of 

capacity  for  the  direct  exercises  of  godliness — am  in  a  state 
of  longing  and  general  earnestness,  but  want  sadly  a  habitual 
frame  of  heavenly-mindedness.  I  read  with  mortification,  and 
I  had  almost  said  envy,  of  the  devotional  feelings  and  delights 


^T.    89.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  139 

of  other  men  ;  and  just  feel  myself,  as  it  were,  at  the  place 
of  breaking  forth,  and  on  the  margin  only  of  that  spiritual 
territory  within  which  all  is  life,  and  light,  and  enlargement, 
and  holy  affection.  It  is  easy  to  talk  of  a  simple  faith  in  the 
testimony  :  but  there  must  be  the  issuing  of  a  certain  sound 
on  the  part  of  the  trumpet  to  him  who  lingers  at  the  threshold, 
and  who,  when  told  just  to  believe,  and  just  to  perform  the 
bare  act  of  faith,  is  still  encompassed  with  helplessness,  and 
impressed  with  the  suspicions  and  the  straightening  of  a  mind 
not  yet  loosed  from  its  bondage.  Yet  come  the  enlargement 
when  it  will,  it  must,  I  admit,  come  after  all  through  the  chan- 
nel of  a  simple  credence  given  to  the  sayings  of  God,  accounted 
as  true  and  faithful  sayings.  And  never  does  light  and  peace 
so  fill  my  heart  as  when,  like  a  little  child,  I  take  up  the  lesson, 
that  God  hath  laid  on  his  own  Son  the  iniquities  of  us  all.  Do 
believe  me,  my  dear  sir,  yours,  very  truly, 

**  Thomas  Chalmers.'* 

"  Thomas  Erskine,  Esq. 

On  the  27th,  he  was  again  in  Glasgow,  and  fairly  entered 
upon  the  negotiations  regarding  his  plans  for  St.  John's.  He 
had  already  received  an  expression  of  good-will  from  the  city 
authorities,  but  felt  the  necessity  of  something  more  in  the 
shape  of  definite  authoritative  enactments  to  proceed  upon.  His 
system  of  parochial  schools,  and  of  pauper  management  needed 
to  be  legally  delivered  from  all  embarrassing  connection  with. 
any  others.  Ten  days  were  spent  in  preliminary  efforts,  and 
having  placed  his  views  fully  before  the  Lord  Provost  and 
town  council,  and  pending  their  answer,  he  paid  a  hasty  visit 
to  Anstruther.  In  the  meanwhile  an  application  had  been 
made  to  him  to  permit  his  name  to  be  presented  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Chair  of  Natural  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, then  vacant  by  the  death  of  Prof.  Playfair.  A  report 
that  he  had  complied  therewith  reached  Glasgow,  and  created 
much  anxiety  among  those  who  were  just  then  so  much  de- 
pending upon  his   services. 


14:0  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMEKS.  1819. 

In  opening  the  first  number  of  The  Christian  and  Civ'ic 
Economy  of  large  Towns,  issued  on  the  24th  of  September,  he 
took  occasion  to  explain  away  the  misunderstanding,  but  what 
was  more  satisfactory  to  his  Glasgow  friends,  was  his  own  re- 
appearance among  them.  And  just  two  days  after  the  publi- 
cation of  the  pamphlet  containing  that  explanation,  on  the 
Sabbath,  the  26th  of  September,  the  church  of  St.  Johns  was 
opened  for  public  worship,  as  appears  from  the  following  ac- 
count in  the  Glasgow  Herald  of  next  day  :  "  Dr.  Andrew 
Thomson,  of  Edinburgh,  and  Dr.  Chalmers,  the  minister  of 
the  parish,  preached  in  presence  of  the  magistrates  and  a  most 
crowded  congregation.  The  first  gentleman  commenced  the 
service  of  the  day,  and  took  for  his  text  Hebrews,  iii,  12  ;  Dr. 
Chalmers,  preached  in  the  afternoon  from  Isaiah,  xxix,  9 — 12. 
In  the  evening,  the  parochial  sitters  took  their  places,  when 
Dr.  Thomson  again  preached.  From  the  intimations  previously 
given,  it  was  understood  that  the  last  of  these  services  was 
meant  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish, 
who  are  enabled,  by  a  wise  and  liberal  arrangement  on  the  part 
of  the  magistrates  and  council,  to  obtain  as  good  a  right  of  oc- 
cupation to  the  evening  seats  as  is  held  by  any  other  sitters 

among  the  day  congregations  of  our  city The  decidedly 

parochial  aspect  of  the  evening  congregation  was  scarcely,  if 
at  all,  impaired  by  any  great  admixture  of  hearers  from  the 
general  and  indiscriminate  public  ;  and  it  was  felt  as  a  novel 
and  affecting  singularity  to  witness  such  a  multitude  of  the  la- 
boring classes  of  our  city  so  respectably  provided  with  Sabbath 
accommodation  in  one  of  the  churches  of  the  Establishment. 
The  impression  was  much  heightened  upon  observing  that  the 
great  body  of  the  population,  on  retiring  from  church,  when 
they  had  reached  the  bottom  of  McFarlane-street,  turned  in 
nearly  an  unbroken  stream  to  the  east  along  the  Gallowgate, 
or  in  the  direction  which  leads  to  the  main  bulk  of  the  parish 

and  its  inhabitants It  gives  us  pleasure  to  observe  that 

the  hour  of  meeting  for  the  evening  sitters  is  so  early  as  four 
in  the  afternoon,  thereby  giving  to  this  parochial  diet  the  char- 
acter and  convenience  of  a  day  service,  and  enabling  the  hearers 


^T.    39.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  141 

to  spend  an  unbroken  Sabbath  evening  in  the  bosom  of  their 
own  families." 

The  parish  of  St.  John's,  in  1819,  contained  a  population  of 
more  than  ten  thousand,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  had  never 
attended  religious  instruction  anywhere.  It  was  one  of  the 
largest,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  very  poorest  parish  in  the 
city.  "  Nevertheless,  suffered  now  to  manage  it  in  his  own 
way.  Dr.  Chalmers  entered  upon  the  task  with  all  the  hopeful 
confidence  of  one  emancipated  from  bondage,  and  all  the  hope- 
ful confidence  of  one  whose  faith  in  the  power  of  moral  and 
spiritual  influences,  both  human  and  divine,  over  the  very  worst 
of  our  species,  was  perhaps  larger  and  stronger  than  that  of 
any  other  man  of  his  generation.  The  four  years  of  his  min- 
istry in  St.  John's,  were  among  the  busiest  in  a  life  over- 
crowded in  every  portion  with  activities  ;  and  if  we  include 
the  after  and  the  indirect,  as  well  as  the  immediate  results 
accomplished  by  them,  they  formed  four  of  the  most  product- 
ive of  his  years." 

In  this  parish,  as  in  that  of  the  Tron  church,  his  first  ef- 
forts were  addressed  to  the  education  of  the  young.  At  the 
commencement  of  his  operations,  he  had  a  band  of  forty-one 
Sabbath  School  teachers  formed;  but  that  number  was  doubled 
before,  according  to  his  method  of  subdivision,  the  whole 
ground  was  covered. 

Provision  had  also  to  be  made  for  the  elements  of  secular 
instruction,  as  very  many  children  were  growing  up  without 
that  amount  of  education  necessary  to  enable  them  to  reap  the 
true  profits  of  Sabbath  School  effort.  The  existing  schools 
were  inadequate  to  the  wants  of  the  population.  The  plan  by 
which  Dr.  Chalmers  proposed  to  meet  this  want  was  that  al- 
ready adopted  by  the  founders  of  the  parochial  schools  of 
Scotland,  according  to  which  a  school-house  was  to  be  built 
by  a  public  fund,  and  a  partial  endowment  provided  for  the 
teacher,  not  sufficient  for  his  support  but  to  enable  him  to  ad- 
mit scholars  for  very  s.mall  fees.  Thus  education  should  be 
put  within  the  reach  of  the  poor,  and  yet  not  undervalued  by 
being  gratuitous.     Accordingly,  he  got  a  few  of  the  members 


142  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1819. 

of  his  church  organized  into  an  Education  Committee,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  the  plan  in  behalf  of  their  own  parish. 
The  means  were  to  be  obtained  by  subscription,  and  Dr.  Chal- 
mers immediately  put  down  his  name  for  £100.  Five  others  did 
likewise,  and  in  a  week  or  two  the  requisite  amount  was  raised. 
The  site  fixed  upon  as  most  convenient,  being  one  which  belonged 
to  the  college,  ''  Dr.  Chalmers  went  to  Principal  Taylor  to  ne- 
gotiate a  purchase.  In  the  hope  of  obtaining  it  on  reasonable 
terms,  he  urged  at  once  the  novelty  and  the  importance  of  the 
undertaking.  The  Principal  acknowledged  the  importance, 
but  demurred  as  to  the  novelty.  "We  have  been  talking  for 
twenty  years,"  he  said,  **  of  establishing  parochial  schools  in 
Glasgow."  "  Yes  ;  but  how  many  years  more  did  you  intend 
to  talk  about  it  ?  Now,  we  are  going  to  do  the  thing,  not  to 
talk  about  it,  and  so,"  said  Dr.  Chalmers,  putting  the  Principal 
into  good  humor  by  some  kindly  saying,  "  you  must  even  let 
the  price  be  as  moderate  as  possible,  seeing  we  are  going  to 
take  the  labor  of  talking  and  projecting  entirely  off  your  hands." 
The  application  was  successful — the  ground  was  purchased — 
the  building  was  commenced,  and  early  in  July,  1820,  was 
ready  for  occupation."  Care  was  taken  to  procure  two  of  the 
most  competent  teachers,  and  such  was  the  success  of  the 
scheme,  that  in  one  month  it  was  found  that  the  two  schools, 
thus  opened,  were  not  enough  to  meet  the  educational  demands 
of  the  parish.  Another  building  was  erected  on  the  same 
plan,  and  went  into  equally  successful  operation.  Thus,  within 
two  years  from  the  beginning  of  his  connection  with  St.  John's, 
four  efficient  teachers,  each  endowed  to  the  extent  of  £,25  a. 
year,  were  educating  four  hundred  and  nineteen  scholars  ; 
and  when  he  left  Glasgow,  in  1823,  other  school  buildings  were 
in  the  process  of  erection,  capable  of  accommodating  three 
hundred  and  seventy-four  additional  pupils  ;  so  that  the  fruits 
of  four  years'  labor  was  the  leaving  behind  him  the  means  and 
facilities  for  giving,  at  a  very  moderate  rate,  a  superior  educa- 
tion to  no  less  than  seven  hundred  and  ninety-three  children, 
out  of  a  population  of  ien  thousand  souls. 

It   has   been   stated   that  one  great  inducement  with  Dr. 


^T.  39.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  143 

Chalmers  to  the  acceptance  of  the  pastorate  of  St.  John's  was 
the  hope  of  obtaining  therein  a  separate  and  independent 
management  of  the  poor,  from  which  he  was  debarred  in  tlie 
Tron  church  parish  by  the  manner  in  which  it  was  connected 
with  other  bodies. 

The  prevaiUng  system  was  somewhat  comphcated,  two  sepa- 
rate fmids  existed,  one  consisting  of  the  results  of  the  legal 
assessments,  the  other  of  the  voluntary  contributions  received 
at  the  church-doors.  These  were  kept  apart,  the  latter  being- 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  general  session,  a  body  composed 
of  all  the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  city,  and  the  former  con- 
trolled by  "  the  committee  of  the  town  hospital,  an  institution 
which  had  both  in-door  and  out-door  pensioners.  The  first 
application  for  public  relief  was  made  to  the  elder  of  the  dis- 
trict in  which  the  applicant  resided.  The  case  was  then 
reported  by  this  elder  to  the  kirk-session  of  his  own  parish. 
But  that  kirk-session,  not  permitted  to  retain  the  collection 
made  at  its  own  church-door,  and  having  no  definite  income 
with  which  to  square  its  annual  expenditure,  had  only  to  insert 
the  name  on  the  roll,  fix  the  allowance,  and  report  to  the 
general  session,  from  whose  funds  a  monthly  distribution  was 
made  among  the  separate  kirk-sessions,  according  to  the  num- 
ber and  necessities  of  the  cases  on  the  roll  of  each.  When 
these  cases  had  multiplied  beyond  the  power  of  the  voluntary 
fund  to  meet  them,  or  when  the  largest  sum  granted  by  the 
session,  which  rarely  exceeded  five  shillings  a  month,  was 
deemed  insufficient,  from  the  pauper  becoming  older  or  more 
necessitous,  there  occurred  a  transference  to  the  town  hospi- 
tal, whose  ampler  fund  admitted  of  larger  allowances.  '  So 
that  each  session,'  says  Dr.  Chalmers,  describing  this  cum- 
brous apparatus,  '  might  have  been  regarded  as  having  two 
doors,  one  of  them  a  door  of  admittance  for  the  population 
who  stand  at  the  margin  of  pauperism,  and  another  of  them  a 
door  of  egress  to  the  town  hospital,  through  which  the  occu- 
piers of  the  outer  court  made  their  way  into  the  inner  temple. 
It  will  be  seen  at  once  how  much  this  economy  of  things  tended 
to  relax  still  more  all  the  sessional  administration  of  the  city, 


144  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1819 

and  with  what  faciUty  the  stream  of  pauperism  would  be  ad- 
mitted at  the  one  end  when  so  ready  and  abundant  a  discharge 
was  provided  for  it  at  the  other.  We  know  not  how  it  was 
possible  to  devise  a  more  likely  arrangement  for  lulling  the 
vigilance  of  those  who  stood  at  the  outposts  of  pauperism,  and 
that  too  at  a  point  where  their  firm  and  strenuous  guardianship 
was  of  greatest  consequence — even  at  the  point  where  the  first 
demonstrations  toward  public  charity  were  made  on  the  part 
of  the  people,  and  where  their  incipient  tendencies  to  this  new 
state,  if  judiciously  while  tenderly  dealt  with,  might  have  been 
so  easily  repressed.  To  station  one  body  of  men  at  the  en- 
trance of  pauperism,  and  burden  them  only  with  the  lighter 
expenses  of  its  outset,  from  which  they  have  a  sure  prospect 
of  being  relieved  by  another  body  of  men,  who  stand  charged 
with  the  trouble  and  expense  of  its  finished  maturity — there 
could  scarcely  have  been  set  a-going  a  more  mischievous  pro- 
cess of  acceleration  toward  all  the  miseries  and  corruptions 
which  are  attendant  on  the  overgrown  charity  of  England." 

The  population  of  St.  John's,  the  cost  of  whose  pauperism 
had  hitherto  averaged  £1400  yearly,  he  proposed  to  manage 
in  the  manner  of  an  unassessed  country  parish,  and  to  provide 
for  all  its  indigence  out  of  the  fund  raised  by  voluntary  contri- 
butions at  the  church-door.  In  accordance  with  that  proposal 
the  magistrates  of  the  city  had  consented  that  the  entire  con- 
trol of  that  fund  should  be  vested  in  the  church- session  of  that 
parish.  The  design  contemplated  by  Dr.  Chalmers  was  not  so 
much  that  of  providing  for  pauperism  as  of  preventing  it,  which 
he  was  convinced  might  be  done  to  great  extent  by  stimulating 
to  industry,  by  using  means  to  procure  employment  for  the 
destitute,  by  eliciting  the  kindly  sympathies  of  relations  and 
neighbors,  and  by  maintaining,  through  all  available  means, 
the  invaluable  feelings  of  independence  and  self-reliance  among 
the  poor.  In  this  work  much  depended  upon  the  careful  scru- 
tiny of  individual  cases  ;  inasmuch  as  the  least  deserving  of  aid 
are  generally  the  most  forward  in  applying  for  it.  The  dea- 
cons of  St.  John's,  accordingly,  received  distinct  instiiictions 
for  their  guidance  in  relation   to  that  matter.     ''When    one 


MT.  89.  LIFE   OP   DR.    CHALMERS.  145 

applies  for  admittance  through  his  deacon  upon  our  funds,  the 
first  thing  to  be  inquired  into  is,  if  there  be  any  kind  of  work 
that  he  can  yet  do,  so  as  either  to  keep  him  altogether  off,  or 
as  to  make  a  partial  allowance  serve  for  his  necessities  ;  the 
second,  what  his  relatives  and  friends  are  willing  to  do  for 
him  ;  the  third,  whether  he  is  a  hearer  in  any  dissenting  place 
of  worship,  and  whether  its  session  will  contribute  to  his  relief. 
And  if,  after  these  previous  inquiries,  it  be  found  that  further 
relief  is  necessary,  then  there  must  be  a  strict  ascertainment 
of  his  term  of  residence  in  Glasgow,  and  whether  he  be  yet  on 
the  funds  of  the  town  hospital,  or  is  obtaining  relief  from  any 
other  parish.  If  upon  all  these  points  being  ascertained,  the 
deacon  of  the  proportion  where  he  resides,  still  conceives  him  an 
object  for  our  assistance,  he  will  inquire  whether  a  small  tem- 
porary aid  will  meet  the  occasion,  and  state  this  to  the  first 
ordinary  meeting.  But  if,  instead  of  this,  he  conceives  him  a 
fit  subject  for  a  regular  allowance,  he  Avill  receive  the  assist- 
ance of  another  deacon  to  complete  and  confirm  his  inquiries 
by  the  next  ordinary  meeting  thereafter,  at  which  time  the 
applicant,  if  they  still  think  him  a  fit  object,  is  brought  before 
us,  and  received  upon  the  fund  at  such  a  rate  of  allowance,  as 
upon  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  the  meeting  of  deacons 
shall  judge  proper.  Of  course,  pending  these  examinations, 
the  deacon  is  empowered  to  grant  the  same  sort  of  discretion- 
ary aid  that  is  customary  in  other  parishes." 

The  town  hospital  was  to  retain  all  its  old  pensioners  of  St. 
John's  parish,  the  kirk  session  to  take  up  and  provide  for  new 
eases,  and  bear  the  charge  of  all  the  existing  cases  of  sessional 
poor  ;  and  henceforth  neither  from  the  one  class  nor  the  other 
should  a  single  pauper  be  sent  to  the  town  hospital,  or  be 
chargeable  upon  the  general  assessment  for  the  city. 

The  collections  made  at  the  church-door  amounted  to  about 
£480  a  year  ;  but  Dr.  Chalmers  limited  his  expenditures  to 
much  less.  For  during  the  whole  time,  nearly  four  years,  in 
which  he  presided  over  the  operation  of  the  scheme,  the  whole 
number  admitted  on  his  list  of  paupers  was  twenty,  at  the 
annual  expense  of  only  £iQQ.  The  number  of  sessional  poor 
13 


146  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1819. 

thrown  upon  his  hands  at  the  beginning,  as  having  belonged 
to  the  parishes  out  of  which  St.  John's  was  composed,  was 
ninety-eight,  of  whom  thirteen  were,  after  investigation,  dis- 
placed, and  twenty-eight,  in  the  course  of  the  four  years,  died. 
The  whole  number  was,  then,  seventy-seven,  whose  yearly 
maintenance  amounted  to  j£190.  Their  large  surplus  encour- 
aged the  session  to  take  the  whole  of  the  town  hospital  paupers 
connected  with  their  parish,  off  that  institution,  involving  them- 
selves in  an  additional  expense  of  £90  a  year.  So  that  all  the 
Did  pauperism  which  had  not  originated  under  their  manage- 
ment— and  which  they  had  every  reason  to  estimate  as  much 
larger  than  under  that  management  it  should  have  been — and 
all  the  new  pauperism  which  had  arisen,  was  now  managed  at 
a  yearly  cost  of  £280.  From  one-tenth  of  the  city,  and  that 
part  composed  of  the  poorest  of  its  population,  the  whole  flow 
of  pauperism  into  the  town  hospital  had  been  intercepted,  and 
an  expenditure  which  had  amounted  to  £1400  was  reduced 
to  £280. 

Thus,  at  the  close  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  ministry,  the  session 
of  St.  John's  had  from  their  own  church-door  collections  a  sur- 
plus of  £900,  of  which  £500  had  been  appropriated  for  the 
endowment  of  one  of  their  parochial  schools.  The  success  of 
the  scheme  was  complete  ;  but  those  who  had  predicted  its 
failure  now  changed  their  plea  and  urged  that  however  tri- 
umphant under  Dr.  Chalmers's  management,  it  would  always 
need  a  Chalmers  to  maintain  its  successful  operation.  The 
justice  of  this  was  also  tested  upon  his  removal,  in  1823, 
when  instead  of  failing,  as  its  enemies  expected,  the  scheme 
continued  to  prosper  many  years  ;  and  when,  in  1837,  it  was 
relinquished,  and  the  parish  suffered  to  fall  back  into  the  gene^ 
ral  system  of  the  city,  it  was  only  on  account  of  the  discour- 
agements and  embarrassments  thrown  in  its  way  by  the  civic 
authorities. 

It  was  impossible  for  the  hand  of  one  man  to  execute  singly 
so  many  measures  of  public  utility.  But  few  have  ever  been 
endowed  with  a  greater  power  of  interesting  others  in  his 
schemes  and  of  enlisting  their  voluntary  services  than  he  who 


^T.    40.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  147 

originated  these  reforms.  The  secret  of  his  success  lay  in  that 
attractive  faculty  whereby  he  gathered  around  him  and  stimu- 
lated to  deeds  of  noble  christian  philanthropy  so  large  a  num- 
ber of  the  intelligent  and  influential  laity. 

His  parish  was  divided  into  twenty -five  districts,  called 
proportions,  containing  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  families 
each.  Over  each  of  these  Dr.  Chalmers  appointed  an  elder 
and  a  deacon,  the  spiritual  interests  being  intrusted  to  the 
former  and  the  temporal  interests  to  the  latter,  the  whole 
management  of  the  pauperism  being  committed  to  the  hands 
of  the  deacons.  "  In  each  district  one  or  more  Sabbath  schools 
were  instituted,  male  and  female  teachers,  to  the  number  of 
between  forty  and  fifty,  being  engaged  in  this  work,  while  a 
few  classes  were  opened  for  the  adult  population." 

This  body  of  lay  assistants  Dr.  Chalmers  called  his  agency. 
But  though  making  use  of  their  labors,  he  never  suffered  the 
supervision  of  any  part  of  the  work  to  escape  from  his  own 
hand.  There  were  the  regular  times  of  reporting  all  proceed- 
ings, "  the  ordinary  meetings  of  the  kirk  session,  the  monthly 
meetings  of  the  deacons,  monthly  meetings  of  the  Sabbath 
school  teachers,  monthly  meetings  in  the  church  for  missionary 
purposes,  and  frequent  meetings  of  the  educational  associa- 
tion ;  all  of  which  Dr.  Chalmers  regularly  and  punctually 
attended  ;"  and  even  in  the  daily  discharge  of  duty  his  vigi- 
lant eye  attended  every  one  of  his  agents.  "  Regular  reports 
from  all  quarters  were  constantly  coming  in,  and  messages 
and  requests  and  suggestions  were  as  constantly  being  issued. 
Had  his  agents  but  preserved  all  the  brief  notes  of  a  line  or 
two  which  they  received  from  Dr.  Chalmers,  it  would  be  seen 
what  an  incessant  shower  of  these  little  billets,  not  one  of  which 
was  dispatched  on  a  fruitless  errand,  he  was  constantly  dis- 
charging. Intercourse  at  meetings  or  by  letter  was  not 
enough  ;  something  closer  and  more  familiar  was  required  to  bind 
all  lovingly  together.  Every  Monday  morning  in  his  own  house 
there  was  agency  breakfast,  to  which  a  general  invitation  was 
issued,  and  at  which  from  six  to  eight  of  his  elders,  deacons, 
or   Sabbath-school  teachers,   were   generally  present.     More 


148  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1820. 

special  invitations  to  tea  were  also  given,  and  that  with  such 
frequency,  that  there  was  scarcely  an  agent  who  was  not  asked 
once  to  the  house  within  each  six  weeks." 

"  His  parochial  arrangements  were  now  complete,  and  with 
almost  superhuman  energy  Dr.  Chalmers  guided  and  impelled 
every  movement  of  the  complicated  apparatus.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  his  ministry  in  St.  John's  he  had  secured  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Rev.  Edward  Irving,  then  a  licentiate  of  the  church. 
There  were  peculiarities  both  of  thought  and  utterance  which 
made  Mr.  Irving  unpopular  as  a  preacher.  He  had  given  up  the 
prospect  of  a  settlement  at  home  and  had  resolved  to  leave  his 
native  land,  full  of  the  chivalrous  romance  of  Christianity. 
His  intention  was,  relying  simply  upon  such  resources  as  he 
could  open  up  for  himself  by  the  way,  to  go  as  a  missionary 
to  Persia,  after  a  preliminary  wandering  over  Europe.  To 
qualify  himself  for  the  self-imposed  office,  he  applied  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  modern  lano-uao^es,  and  buried  himself  amona^ 
his  books.  '  Rejected  by  the  living,'  as  he  told  a  friend,  '  I 
was  conversing  with  the  dead."  In  the  midst  of  his  studies 
he  was  interrupted  by  a  note  from  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  ask- 
ing him  to  preach  in  St.  George's,  and  telling  him  that  he 
would  have  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  was  looking  out  for  an  assist- 
ant, as  an  auditor.  He  complied  with  the  request,  and 
preaclved  as  he  had  been  desired,  without,  however,  having 
seen  or  conversed  with  Dr.  Chalmers.  Days  and  weeks  elapsed 
without  any  indication  of  his  preaching  having  made  any  fa- 
vorable impression.  His  books  were  all  packed  up  and  dis- 
patched to  Annan,  while  he  himself  set  off  on  a  farewell  torn- 
round  the  west  coast  of  Ayrshire  to  see  some  friends  ere  his 
departure  for  the  east.  Loitering  on  the  quay  at  Greenock, 
he  stepped  into  a  steamboat  which  was  to  carry  him,  as  he 
thought,  to  Stranraer.  It  was  only  after  her  paddles  had  com- 
menced to  move  that  he  discovered  that  she  was  bound  for 
the  Highlands.  He  leaped  ashore,  and  treading,  in  no  pleas- 
ant frame  of  mind,  the  Greenock  quay  once  more,  he  resolved 
that,  carry  him  where  she  might,  he  would  embark  in  the  next 
boat  that  sailed.     It  so  happened  that  the  vessel  was  bound 


JST.    40.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEliS.  149 

for  Belfast,  and  having  just  time  to  write  his  father,  saying, 
that  if  any  letter  came  for  him  it  should  be  addressed  to  Cole- 
raine,  he  crossed  the  channel  and  wandered  for  two  or  three 
weeks  over  the  north  of  Ireland,  sleeping  in  the  houses  of  the 
peasantry,  and  in  all  its  lights  and  shadows  seeing  Irish  life. 
In  due  time  he  reached  Coleraine,  where  there  awaited  him  a 
letter  from  Annan,  containing  an  inclosure,  which  his  father 
told  him  he  would  have  copied  if  he  could,  but  he  could  not 
decipher  a  single  word.  It  was  a  letter  from  Dr.  Chalmers, 
requesting  his  immediate  presence  in  Glasgow.  He  hurried 
there,  arriving  on  a  Saturday,  when  he  found  that  Dr.  Chal- 
mers had  ofone  to  Fifeshire.  As  there  was  nothing  definite  in 
the  letter,  and  as  weeks  had  passed  since  it  was  written,  Mr. 
Irving  was  about  to  give  up  the  matter  altogether,  when  told 
by  a  friend  that  Dr.  Chalmers  had  just  returned.  He  saw  him, 
and  was  told  that  it  was  his  desire  that  he  should  be  his  assist- 
ant. '  Well,  sir,'  said  Mr.  Irving,  after  the  imexpected  tidings 
had  been  communicated  to  him,  '  I  am  most  grateful  to  you, 
but  I  must  be  also  somewhat  acceptable  to  your  people.  I  will 
preach  to  them  if  you  think  fit,  and  if  they  bear  with  my 
preaching,  they  will  be  the  first  people  that  have  borne  Avith  it.' 
*'  He  did  preach,  proved  acceptable,  and  for  the  two  years 
which  followed — the  busiest,  perhaps,  in  all  his  busy  life — 
Dr.  Chalmers  was  refreshed  and  sustained  by  the  congenial 
fellowship  and  effective  co-operation  of  a  like-minded  and 
noble-hearted  associate.  There  were  three  public  services 
every  Sabbath  in  St.  John's  church,  and  one  in  a  school-house 
situated  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  parish,  which  commenced  at 
the  same  time  with  the  forenoon  service  in  the  church.  These 
four  services  were  shared  equally  between  Dr.  Chalmers  and 
his  assistant,  the  forenoon  and  evening  service  in  the  church  on 
each  alternate  Sabbath,  devolving  upon  the  one,  the  service  in 
the  school-house  and  the  afternoon  service  in  the  church,  de- 
volving upon  the  other.  Dr.  Chalmers  commenced  a  series 
of  lectures  upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  his  assistant  a 
series  of  lectures  upon  the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke.  The  same 
lecture  which  was  delivered  by  each  in  the  forenoon  in  the 


150  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS  1820. 

church,  was  re-delivered,  but  not  on  the  same  day,  to  the  even- 
ing congregation,  the  series  as  preached  in  the  forenoon  being 
generally  two  or  three  lectures  in  advance  of  the  series  as  de- 
livered in  the  evening.  It  was  particularly  desired  that  the 
evening  congregation  should  only  consist  of  parishioners  and 
those  of  the  poorer  classes  whom  the  high  seat-rents  charged 
upon  the  general  or  forenoon  congregation,  served  to  exclude. 
The  labors  of  household  visitation  were  also  shared  between 
Dr.  Chalmers  and  his  assistant.  In  this  department  Mr.  Irving 
was  pre-eminently  effective.  In  many  a  rude  encounter,  the 
infidel  radicalism  of  the  parish  bent  and  bowed  before  him. 
His  commanding  presence,  his  manly  bearing,  his  ingenuous 
honesty,  his  vigorous  intellect,  and  above  all,  his  tender  and 
most  generous  sympathies  melted  the  hearts  of  the  people 
under  him,  and  second  only  to  that  which  his  more  illustrious 
colleague  possessed  was  the  parochial  influence  which,  after  a 
few  months'  visitation,  he  gained  and  most  fruitfully  exercised.* 
His  own  round  among  the  families  of  the  parish.  Dr.  Chalmers 
completed  within  two  years.  The  general  manner  of  these 
visits  has  already  been  described.  Much  greater  pains,  how- 
ever, were  now  taken  both  by  himself  and  the  other  parochial 
agents,  to  secure  a  large  attendance  at  the  evening  addresses, 
by  which  these  forenoon  visitations  were  followed  up.  The 
success  justified  the  effort.  Multitudes,  who  otherwise  would 
never  have  had  the  overtures  of  Divine  mercy  addressed  to 
them,  were  brought  within  the  sound  of  the  preacher's  voice. 
These  local  week-day,  undress  congregations  assembled  in  a 
cotton-mill,  or  the  workshop  of  a  mechanic,  or  the  kitchen  of 
some  kindly  accommodating  neighbor,  with  their  picturesque 
exhibition  of  greasy  jackets  and  unwashed  countenances,  and 
hands  all  soiled  and  fresh  from  labor  turning  up  the  pages  of 
unused  Bibles,  had  a  special  charm  for  Dr.  Chalmers  ;  and  all 


*  "  Mr.  Irving  remained  for  t"^vo  years  in  Glasgow  as  Dr.  Chalmers's 
assistant,  after  which  he  was  called  to  the  metropolis,  where  a  speedy 
and  unbounded  popularity  raised  him  to  an  elevation  such  as  nopresby 
terian  minister,  before  or  since,  has  ever  reached  in  London." 


^T.  40.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  161 

alive  to  the  peculiar  interest  and  urgency  of  such  opportuni- 
ties, he  stirred  up  every  faculty  that  was  in  him,  while  he 
urged  upon  the  consciences  and  the  hearts  of  such  auditors  the 
high  claims  of  the  christian  salvation.  His  chosen  and  be- 
loved friend,  Mr.  Collins — who,  after  such  a  life  of  honorable 
service  in  the  cause  of  Christ  as  few  laymen  among  us  have 
ever  lived,  in  that  retirement  into  which  feeble  health  has 
forced  him,  still  cherishes  with  unabated  zeal  those  interests 
^ which  in  by-gone  years  he  toiled  so  much  to  further — often  ac- 
companied Dr.  Chalmers  to  these  evening  meetings  ;  and  we 
have  his  reiterated  and  emphatic  testimony,  that  no  bursts  of 
that  oratory  which  rolled  over  admiring  thousands  in  the  Tron 
church  or  in  St.  John's,  ever  equaled,  in  all  the  highest  quali- 
ties of  eloquence,  many  of  these  premeditated  but  unwritten 
addresses,  in  which,  free  from  all  restraint,  and  intent  upon  the 
one  object  of  winning  souls  to  the  Saviour,  that  heart  which 
glowed  with  such  intense  desires  for  the  present  and  eternal 
welfare  of  the  working  classes,  unbosomed  in  the  midst  of 
them  all  the  fullness  of  its  christian  sympathies." 

Owing  to  various  causes,  of  which  the  principal  was  over- 
trading, whereby  continental  markets  were  glutted  with  British 
goods,  to  which  may  be  added  the  deficient  crops  of  1816,  the 
years  from  1817  to  1820  were  times  of  great  distress  among 
the  working  classes  of  Great  Britain,  and  especially  among  the 
operatives  of  the  manufacturing  towns.  The  pressure,  conse- 
quentl}^  fell  heavily  upon  a  large  body  of  the  population  of 
Glasgow.  And  in  the  spring  of  1820,  discontent,  in  some  of 
the  cities  of  both  England  and  Scotland,  had  proceeded  the 
length  of  open  revolt,  professing  to  have  for  its  object  a  radi- 
cal change  in  the  government.  The  movement,  however,  was 
not  sustained  by  the  sympathy  of  the  rest  of  the  nation,  and 
was  consequently  put  down  in  a  few  days.  It  was  a  subject 
%vhich  deeply  interested  the  mind  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  his 
views  in  relation  to  it  were  variously  expressed  :  first,  in  an 
article  for  the  Edinburgh  Review,  written  in  January,  1 820,  in 
a  series  of  letters  addressed  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  during  that 
winter   and   succeeding   spring,   as  well   as  in   two  sermons 


152  LIFE  OF  DK.  CHALMERS. 


1820. 


preached  on  the  30th  of  April  and  7th  of  May,  the  design  of 
which  was  to  show  the  salutary  effect  of  the  religious  element 
in  government.  These  latter  were  afterward  united  into  one 
discourse,  and  published  on  the  16th  of  May,  under  the  title 
of  "  A  Sermon  on  the  Importance  of  Civil  Government  to 
Society."  Two  editions,  amounting  to  6000  copies,  were  sold 
off,  and  a  third  issued  in  twenty-four  days.  They  were  after- 
ward included  in  the  series  of  his  works. 

The  Moral  Philosophy  chair  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
had  become  vacant  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  and 
Dr.  Chalmers  was  requested  to  become  a  candidate,  with  the 
assurance  that  if  he  did  so,  he  would  obtain  the  appointment. 
Agreeable  as  that  situation  would  have  been  to  his  feelings 
and  habits  of  mind,  he  could  not  think  of  relinquishing  his 
plans  for  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  his  parish  while 
yet  immature,  and,  accordingly,  replied  that  he  was  too  much 
interested  in  his  present  work  to  be  willing  to  leave  it  at  that 
stage  of  its  progress,  and  could  not  offer  himself  as  a  candi- 
date, nor  encourage  any  of  his  friends  to  move  in  the  matter. 
At  the  same  time  he  privately  recorded  his  intention  to  devote 
a  larger  proportion  of  the  rest  of  his  life  to  intellectual  labor. 
In  the  meanwhile,  he  multiplied  his  efforts  for  the  parish  of 
St.  John's,  as  if  under  a  premonition  that  the  period  assigned 
to  them  could  not  be  long. 

''  That  he  might  prosecute  his  parochial  labors  with  greater 
facility  and  less  distraction,  he  rented  a  small  apartment  within 
the  bounds  of  the  parish,"  and  thus,  devoting  himself  entirely 
to  his  work,  accomplished  an  amount  of  it  which  has  seldom 
been  paralleled.  Spending  four  days  a  week  in  visiting  the 
people,  in  company  with  his  agents  for  the  various  districts 
into  which  he  had  divided  his  parish,  he  sometimes  saw  from  700 
to  800  persons  in  a  week.  He  had  the  company  of  his  agency 
to  tea  almost  every  evening,  when  their  past  efforts  were  re- 
viewed and  future  plans  devised.  At  nine  o'clock,  he  went 
out  to  family  worship  in  some  house  belonging  to  the  district 
of  his  lodging,  where  he  collected  the  people  of  the  vicinity. 
Fridays  and  Saturdays  were  his  days  of  study.    Every  Friday 


^T.  42.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  153 

evening  he  delivered  an  address  before  the  people  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, in  the  Calton  Lancasterian  school  room,  and  a 
weekly  address  to  those  of  the  respective  districts,  as  he  went, 
over  them  in  regular  visitation.  Beside  all  this,  he  attended 
to  such  additional  calls,  as  meetings  of  Sabbath  school  society, 
meetings  of  Presbytery,  his  Thursday  sermon,  meetings  of  ses- 
sion, and  various  other  incidental  business  involved. 

It  has  been  stated  that  about  the  time  of  entering  upon  his 
ministry  in  St.  John's,  he  issued  a  pamphlet  on  the  "  Chris- 
tian and  Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns  ;"  the  same  subject 
was  further  pursued  in  a  series  of  such  pamphlets  pubhshed 
quarterly,  and  continued  for  several  years.  In  November, 
1820,  he  published  a  volume  of  sermons,  "  On  the  Application 
of  Christianity  to  the  Commercial  and  ordinary  Affairs  of  Life." 
Perceiving  the  very  extensive  field  of  usefulness  now  within 
the  reach  of  his  pen,  in  order  to  secure  more  time  for  writing 
and  preaching,  he  delegated  a  large  portion  of  the  work  of  vis- 
itation and  the  cares  attendant  thereupon  to  his  agency,  still 
holding  himself  ready  to  go  to  any  sick  person,  who  might, 
through  one  of  the  elders,  require  his  services,  and  also  to  go 
through  all  the  houses  in  his  parish  once  in  two  years,  and  in- 
vite each  proportion  to  a  week-day  evening  address  ;  and  de- 
claring himself  desirous  of  making  "  attendance  upon  the 
parish  funeral  take  precedence  of  all  other  duties  and  engage- 
ments whatever." 

In  the  course  of  his  quarterly  publications,  he  came,  in  the 
spring  of  1822,  upon  the  great  question  of  pauperism,  and 
having  discussed  it  in  its  Scottish  aspects  and  bearings,  meant 
to  deal  with  it  also  in  relation  to  England;  but  feeling  distrust 
of  his  knowledge  on  that  part  of  the  subject,  he  resolved  upon 
a  tour  of  minute  inquiry  before  attempting  the  treatment  of  it. 
In  the  course  of  that  tour  he  made  personal  inspection  of  the 
working  of  the  English  poor-laws,  of  the  workhouses,  and  of 
the  plans  pursued  in  particular  parishes  in  respect  to  their 
poor.  He  also  consulted  on  the  subject  many  of  the  most  em- 
inent men  of  England,  as  Mr.  Malthus,  Mr.  Wilberforce,  Lord 
Calthorpe,  Dr.  Pye  Smith,  Messrs.  Leigh  Richmond,  Zachary 


154  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1822. 

Macauley,  Babington,  Buxton,  Clarkson,  and  many  others,  em- 
inent as  statesmen  and  philanthropists. 

He  returned  to  Glasgow  on  the  19th  of  October.  The  effect 
of  his  observations  evidently  was  to  confirm  him  in  adherence 
to  the  views  he  had  already  adopted.  He  had  seen  the  English 
poor-laws  everywhere  operating  to  break  down  the  feeling  of 
self-reliance  among  the  poor,  to  stop  up  the  fountains  of  sponta- 
neous benevolence,  injuring  thereby  both  the  giver  and  receiver, 
and  actually  increasing  the  evil  they  were  designed  to  remove. 
His  periodical  treatises  were  consequently  continued  on  the 
same  principles  on  which  they  had  been  commenced. 

After  all  the  assistance  employed  to  carry  the  gospel  into 
every  family  under  his  care,  it  was  found  that  the  enormous 
magnitude  of  the  parish  overmatched  his  efforts,  and  his  favor- 
ite purpose,  that  of  reaching  frequently  those  wiio  paid  no 
attendance  on  the  outward  ordinances  of  religion,  nor  pre- 
sented themselves  to  the  preacher's  voice,  was  still  unattained. 
He  therefore  conceived  the  design  of  dividing  his  parish  into 
two,  and  of  planting  another  minister  with  a  corresponding 
body  of  assistants  in  it.  In  vain,  however,  did  he  urge  the 
magistrates  and  council  to  execute  that  work  ;  they  couW  not 
be  made  to  feel  its  importance,  and,  as  the  only  method  open 
to  him,  he  issued  proposals  to  build  a  chapel  of  ease  within 
the  bounds  of  St.  John's,  the  funds  to  be  raised  by  shares  of 
£100  each,  on  which  the  ordinary  rate  of  interest  should  be 
paid.  Having  subscribed  five  shares  himself,  and  eleven  other 
persons  one  each,  a  constitution  was  obtained,  according  to 
which,  the  collections  taken  up  in  the  new  chapel,  were  to  be 
at  the  disposal  of  the  session  of  St.  John's,  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  in  the  chapel  district.  The  enterprise  was,  at  this  stage, 
sustained  by  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Douglas  of  Cavers,  who 
placed  £500  at  the  disposal  of  Dr.  Chalmers  for  that  object, 
and  before  the  building  was  complete,  it  received  another  do- 
nation from  the  same  hand  to  the  same  amount.  The  chapel 
was  opened  for  public  worship  in  May,  1823,  and  in  June,  a 
minister  was  ordained  to  the  charge  of  the  district  for  which 
it  was  erected.      Dr.   Chalmers,  however,  did  not  thereupon 


^T.  42.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  155 

resign  all  concern  in  it,  but  labored  for  its  success  to  the 
utmost  of  his  power,  even  after  his  removal  from  Glasgow, 
making  a  yearly  visit  to  the  city  to  preach  for  five  or 
six  successive  Sabbaths  in  that  chapel  and  visit  among  the  pa- 
rishioners. 

Yet  the  project  failed.  Many  causes  conspired  to  this  result, 
among  which,  was  the  fact  that  the  minister's  salary  had  to  be 
paid  from  the  pew  rents,  and  these  had  been  set  so  unreasonably 
high,  that  the  attraction  of  the  preaching,  it  seems,  had  not 
been  sufficient  to  overcome  the  repulsion  of  the  price  de- 
manded, and  consequently  the  chapel  sunk  under  a  load  of 
debt  ;  being  utterly  unable  to  pay  the  interest  of  the  money 
expended  in  its  erection.  Another  cause  was  the  want  of  tact 
and  energy  in  the  clergyman  appointed  to  the  charge.  Though 
an  excellent  and  pious  man,  he  was  deficient  in  many  qualities 
necessary  for  so  peculiar  a  sphere  of  duty.  Some  years  later 
he  wrote  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  requesting  his  interest  in  procuring 
for  him  a  church  elsewhere.  The  reply  bore  testimony  to  the 
greatness  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  disappointment  and  his  conviction 
that  inefficiency  of  the  minister  was  the  primary  cause.  That 
gentleman  himself,  under  a  sense  of  his  unfitness  for  the 
place,  soon  afterward,  voluntarily,  **  relinquished  more  than 
half  of  the  limited  salary,  which  the  proprietors  of  the  chapel 
had  agreed  to  advance,  in  order  that  an  assistant  and  successor 
might  be  appointed." 

In  the  midst  of  these  multifarious  occupations,  Dr.  Chalmers 
received  from  the  University  of  St.  Andrew's  a  proposition 
tendering  him,  on  the  most  kindly  and  liberal  terms,  the  pro- 
fessorship of  Moral  Philosophy  in  that  institution.  "  If  your 
mind,"  wrote  Principal  Nicoll,  "be  at  once  decidedly  against 
the  plan,  you  will  require  no  time  for  deliberation,  but  if  you 
judge  it  deserving  of  consideration,  then  I  think  your  best 
way  would  be  to  meet  me  in  Edinburgh  —  where  I  am  to 
be  at  a  county  meeting  on  Tuesday  next — when  we  can 
have  a  conversation  on  the  subject.  Be  assured,  however, 
that  I  have  no  wish  to  converse  with  you  on  anything  like 
jobbing  politics. 


156  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMEK8.  1828 

*'  If  you  come  among  us  you  shall  come  free  as  the  air  you 
breathe.  No  favor  will  be  considered  as  done  to  you,  and  con- 
sequently you  will  be  under  no  obligation  to  any  individual. 
My  support  will  be  given  to  your  character  —  to  your  varied 
acquirements  and  splendid  talents  —  to  your  integrity  as  a 
man  —  to  your  gentlemanlike  and  mild  manners  as  a  member 
of  society  ;  and  if  my  colleagues  give  their  support,  I  know 
that  it  will  be  given  on  the  same  grounds.  The  living,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  cannot  be  reckoned  higher  than  £300  a  year,  but 
I  think  it  will  increase." 

The  interview  in  Edinburgh,  proposed  by  Dr.  Nicoll,  took 
place  ;  and  on  the  18th  of  January,  1823,  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
unanimously  elected  to  the  chair  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  St. 
Andrew's.  Although  he  had  previously  declined  many  prop- 
ositions from  both  vacant  churches  and  chairs,  this  was  so  en- 
tirely congenial  to  his  feehngs,  and  coincided  so  well  with  his 
now  fixed  purpose  of  devoting  much  of  his  time  to  the  work 
of  authorship,  and  came  to  him  also  at  a  period  when  his  va- 
rious plans  for  his  parish  were  all  fairly  in  operation,  that, 
without  any  further  consultation,  he  frankly  intimated  his  ac- 
ceptance, with  the  understanding  that  he  should  not  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  the  office  until  November  of  the  same  year. 
This  decision  was  forthwith  made  known  to  the  gentlemen  of 
liis  agency.  The  announcement  was  to  them  a  most  painful 
surprise.  They  found  it  difficult  to  comprehend  the  motive 
which  could  actuate  a  man  to  withdraw  from  a  place  of  such 
publicity,  popularity  and  success,  to  the  obscurity  of  a  profes- 
sor's lecture-room,  and  they  doubtless  experienced  a  sinking 
of  heart  in  view  of  their  own  future  labors,  w^hen  he  Avho  had 
been  the  mainspring  of  all  should  be  withdrawn.  But  there 
was  such  a  firm  tone  of  decision  in  the  language  of  his  letter 
to  them,  that  they  perceived  remonstrance  to  be  in  vain.  The 
general  public  of  Glasgow  regretted  that  decision,  and  as  the 
public  frequently  treats  her  favorites,  when  they  cross  her 
wishes,  threw  out  here  and  there  some  very  ungenerous  impu- 
tations upon  the  motives  leading  thereto.  Unmoved  from 
his     purpose    by    any    such    considerations.     Dr.    Chalmers 


^T.    48.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  157 

proceeded  with  increased  assiduity  in  all  the  duties  of  his  par- 
ish until  the  last  day  of  his  connection  therewith.  Especially 
did  his  new  chapel  occupy  his  attention,  being  the  only  one  of 
his  parochial  measures  still  immature.  In  the  course  of  the 
spring  and  summer  all  the  arrangements  necessary  to  its  oper- 
ation being  complete,  he  felt  himself  acquitted  of  his  obliga- 
tions to  his  church,  and  ready  to  leave  it  in  prosperous  condi- 
tion to  his  successor. 

The  principal  occasions  on  which  Dr.  Chalmers  took  any 
part  in  Ecclesiastical  Court  matters,  in  those  days,  were  in  the 
General  Assemblies  of  1821  and  1822,  on  the  question  of  theo- 
logical education,  and  in  the  Synod  of  Glasgow  and  Ayr,  in 
1823,  in  a  case  of  plurality.  The  former  was  a  matter  which, 
indeed,  seems  to  have  urgently  demanded  reformation,  for  as 
they  then  stood,  the  requisitions  of  candidates  for  the  gospel 
ministry  may  be  said  to  have  been  leveled  down  to  the  hum- 
blest capacity.  The  student,  after  his  four  years'  attendance 
upon  the  ordinary  academical  course,  might,  if  he  saw  fit,  pur- 
sue his  studies  in  the  Divinity  Halls  for  three  full  sessions  and 
part  of  a  fourth  :  or  "without  hearing  a  single  course  of  lectures 
on  theology,  by  his  mere  presence  for  a  few  days  at  one  of  the 
University  seats  in  the  course  of  six  successive  sessions,  and 
by  performing  a  few  prescribed  exercises,  he  might  qualify 
himself  for  the  ministry.  Between  these  two,  which  may  be 
regarded  as  the  extreme  methods,  there  were  various  ways 
adopted  by  students,  and  allowed  by  the  church,  of  compound- 
ing together  sessions  of  regular  and  irregular  attendance  upon 
the  theological  classes.  The  object  of  those  with  whom  Dr. 
Chalmers  now  co-operated  was  to  abolish  altogether  the  six 
years'  occasional  attendance,  to  make  a  regular  attendance  for 
three  full  sessions  to  be  in  every  case  imperative,  and  to  enjoin 
that  at  least  two  years'  attendance  should  be  given  on  the 
classes  of  Hebrew  and  Church  History.  The  speech  of  Dr. 
Chalmers  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1821,  in  favor  of  the 
proposed  reformation,  was  one  of  the  most  briUiant  which  he 
ever  dehvered  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  his  church.  Its 
most  powerful  passages  were  afterward  embodied  in  the  'Chris- 


158  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1823. 

tian  and  Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns/  and  in  his  work  on 
the  '  Use  and  Abuse  of  Literary  Endowments.'  It  was  not 
till  after  many  discussions  and  defeats  that  the  object  which 
Dr.  Chalmers  and  his  friends  had  in  view  was  attained,  and 
the  standard  of  theological  qualification  for  the  ministry  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland  permanently  raised." 

The  latter  case  arose  out  of  a  presentation  to  the  Inner  High 
Church  of  Glasgow,  issued  by  the  Crown  in  favor  of  Dr.  Mc- 
Farlane,  Principal  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  a  case  of 
plurality  which  could  not  be  defended  by  any  plea  of  lightness 
of  duty  or  inadequacy  of  support ;  for  each  of  the  offices  thus 
proposed  to  be  united  in  one  person,  were  more  than  enough 
for  all  the  labor  of  one,  and  both  were  amply  endowed.  If 
this  case  were  admitted,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  upon  what 
ground  any  plurality  could  be  opposed.  Through  the  influence 
of  Dr.  Chalmers  and  a  few  other  clergymen  of  the  city,  who 
entertained  as  zealously  the  same  views,  the  presentation  was 
rejected  by  the  Presbytery.  Dr.  McFarlane  appealed  to  the 
Synod,  which  was  to  meet  in  October.  In  that  body  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  represent  the  action  of  the  Presbytery  and 
of  those  who  should  sustain  it,  as  resistance  to  the  royal 
power,  whence  the  presentation  had  emanated.  After  the  le- 
gality of  the  course  pursued  by  the  Presbytery  had  been  ably 
stated  by  his  colleagues,  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  the  close  of  his  argu- 
ment, nobly  exposed  the  meanness  and  unconstitutionality  of 
such  a  plea.  "  I  would  have  said  no  more,  but  for  one  affirm- 
ation in  the  reasons  of  the  appellant,  even  that  this  proceeding 
of  ours  is  '  disrespectful  to  the  Crown.'  That  is  indeed  a  noble 
anecdote  of  British  jurisprudence  in  the  preface  to  De  Lolme's 
*  Essay  on  the  British  Constitution.  On  his  first  arrival  in 
London,  he  attended  a  court  of  law,  when  the  cause  happened 
to  be  a  question  between  a  subject  and  a  prince  of  the  blood. 
It  was  decided  for  the  subject,  and  against  the  prince — a  cir- 
cumstance which  in  itself  was  quite  enough  to  surprise  the 
foreigner.  But  there  was  an  accompaniment  to  the  thing, 
which  surprised  him  infinitely  more  than  the  thing  itself;  and 
that  is,  that  no  surprise  whatever  was  either  felt  or  expressed 


^T.  48.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  159 

by  the  spectators — not  even  one  movement  of  popular  satisfac- 
tion, and  no  mobbish  or  tumultuary  delight  because  of  the 
poor  man's  triumph,  and  the  great  man's  overthrow.  And 
why  ?  because  the  thing  just  happened  in  the  even  and  ordi- 
nary course  of  English  justice  ;  it  was  but  an  everyday  incident 
in  the  administration  of  law  ;  and  of  the  whole  assembled  pub- 
lic who  were  present,  and  had  looked  calmly  and  intelligently 
on  throughout  the  whole  of  the  process,  not  one  discovered  the 
slightest  astonishment,  not  one  betrayed  any  indecent  exulta- 
tion at  the  verdict,  because  it  was  precisely  the  verdict  which, 
from  the  abstract  merits  of  the  case,  they  had  been  led  to  an- 
ticipate. It  was  this  which  gave  to  this  enlightened  stranger 
his  profoundest  sense  of  the  excellence  of  our  constitution  ; 
and  this  is  the  origin  of  far  the  soundest  treatise  which  has 
appeared  on  the  government  and  constitution  of  our  highly 
privileged  land. 

''Now  this  is  a  noble  anecdote.  It  has  the  moral  sublime  in 
it ;  and  were  I  called  to  fix  upon  the  thing  that  should  be 
placed  over  against  it  in  most  direct  and  humiliating  contrast, 
it  should  just  be  this  reason  of  the  appellant.  It  is  a  reason  I 
could  not  have  dared  to  utter  in  your  hearing,  lest  you  had 
rebuked  me  into  silence  for  so  presuming  on  the  paltry  and 
pusillanimous  stuff  which  this  venerable  Court  was  made  of. 
It  is  a  bugbear  to  frighten  children  ;  and  foreign  as  it  is  to  all 
the  habitudes  of  English  justice,  it  would  indeed  sound  most 
strangely  in  English  ears.  It  smells  of  feudalism  all  over; 
and  in  politics,  it  is  as  unlike  to  the  true  spirit  of  British  loy- 
alty as  in  religion  a  driveling  superstition  is  unlike  to  the  hom- 
age of  a  rational  and  enlightened  piety.  Take  my  word  for  it, 
sir,  that  no  feeling  of  the  sort  exists  at  head-quarters  ;  nay, 
were  the  whole  truth  known,  the  feeling  there  would  be  exactly 
the  reverse.  In  the  hurry  and  hard-driving  of  the  public 
offices,  things  are  often  done  before  the  evil  tendency  is  under- 
stood, and  then  a  loop-hole  of  retreat  is  deemed  of  all  things 
to  be  the  most  desirable.  And  were  it  only  known  with  what 
fond,  yet  painful  interest,  the  whole  of  Scotland  was  now  look- 
ing on ;  were  it  known  that  our  Kirk,  with  all  its  errors,  was 


160  LIFE   OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1828. 

still  the  dearest  object  of  our  people's  veneration  ;  were  it 
known  how  much  it  is  that  the  righteousness  of  her  measures 
is  fitted  to  gladden  all  the  land,  and  to  pour  the  sunshine  of 
an  honest  triumph  into  this  very  humblest  of  our  cottages  ; 
were  it  known  that,  by  this  appointment,  the  most  loyal  magis- 
tracy in  our  empire  have  been  thwarted,  and  the  purest  and 
most  patriotic  designs  for  the  public  weal  are  now  placed  on 
a  brink  of  fearful  uncertainty  ;  were  all  this  known,  I  feel  sure, 
as  of  my  existence,  that  the  royal  complacency  would  smile 
upon  our  calumniated  labors,  and  not  upon  the  men  who  could 
degrade  their  sovereign  into  a  scarecrow,  and  prostitute  his 
venerated  name  to  the  service  of  a  hurtful  and  unhallowed 
usurpation." 

The  Synod  affirmed  the  sentence  of  the  Presbytery,  and  the 
matter  was  carried  by  appeal  before  the  General  Assembly  of 
1824.  There  Dr.  Chalmers  made  another  effort  to  avert  from 
the  church  the  dreaded  evil ;  but  that  body  was  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  appreciate  the  weight  of  his  reasons.  A  large  majority 
voted  to  reverse  the  sentence  of  Presbytery,  and  that  "Dr.  Mc- 
Farlane  should  be  admitted  as  minister  of  the  High  Church.'* 

In  the  case  of  a  man  so  variedly  and  successfully  em- 
ployed before  the  public,  there  is  a  natural  curiosity  which 
prompts  us  to  inquire  what  were  his  private  manners  and  hab- 
its, as  if  it  would  be  gratifying  to  know  how  he  compared  with 
other  men  in  matters  wherein  all  men  comport  themselves  into 
comparison  with  him. 

To  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smyth,  Mr.  Irving's  successor, 
in  the  assistantship  of  St.  John's,  we  are  indebted  for  a  glimpse 
into  the  domestic  life  of  Dr.  Chalmers  at  this  busiest  period  of 
his  career : 

"  It  was  on  Saturday,  June  8th,  1822,  that  I  joined  Dr.  Chal- 
mers at  Limekilns  for  Glasgow.  I  shall  never  forget  the  kind- 
ness which  he  showed  me  that  day.  Although  a  native  of  the 
west  of  Scotland,  I  had  not  been  in  the  city  of  Glasgow  since 
my  childhood,  and  that  merely  for  a  few  minutes.  All  was 
new  and  strange.  My  heart  was  full,  and  my  anxiety  was  in- 
tense.   Well  do  I  recollect  how  thoroughly  Dr.  Chalmers  made 


iET.  43.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  161 

me  acquainted  with  the  localities  through  which  we  passed 
along  the  canal.  *  Come,  now,  my  dear  sir,'  (I  seem  at  this 
moment  to  hear  the  very  words),  *  and  I  will  initiate  you  into 
the  mystery  of  the  locks,'  a  mystery  which  I  had  never  seen 
before.  At  intervals  he  was  busily  occupied  with  the  perusal 
of  Sibb's  '  Soul's  Conflict,'  a  book  which  he  greatly  valued  on 
account  of  its  deep  experimental  character.  We  reached 
Glasgow  on  Saturday  evening,  and  had  a  most  affectionate 
welcome  from  the  doctor's  family,  including  his  aunt  Jean,  as 
she  was  lovingly  called,  an  old  lady  with  whom  I  afterward 
spent  many  happy  hours.  When  we  entered  the  dining-room 
for  tea,  my  eye  lighted  on  a  table  literally  covered  with  letters, 
the  accumulation  of  a  few  days.  It  appeared  to  me  a  most 
Herculean  task  for  any  man  to  address  himself  to  the  reading, 
how  much  more  to  the  answering,  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  epis- 
tles on  all  varieties  of  subjects,  public  and  private.  It  was  Dr. 
Chalmers's  practice  at  this  time  to  reply  to  his  correspondents, 
whenever  it  was  practicable  for  him  to  do  so,  in  course  of  post. 
In  his  answers  he  generally  confined  himself  to  the  matter  im- 
mediately on  hand,  waiving  prefaces,  and  getting  at  once  in 
medias  res.  In  this  way,  although,  perhaps,  no  man  in  Britain 
had  a  more  extensive  and  multifarious  correspondence  he  suc- 
ceeded in  never  falling  behind  with  his  answers.  I  have  re- 
peatedly seen  him  reply  to  ten  or  twelve  letters  in  the  course 
of  an  hour.  In  this  respect,  as  in  others,  our  venerated  friend 
was  a  striking  example  of  the  power  of  methodical  adherence 
to  a  fixed  system  in  accomplishing  what  to  most  men  would 
have  been  an  insuperable  labor.  Sabbath,  June  9th,  was 
the  commencement  of  my  public  work  in  Glasgow.  I  preached 
in  the  school-house  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  parish  churcli  in 
the  afternoon,  and  heard  Dr.  Chalmers  in  the  evening.  The 
Lord  was  very  gracious  and  helpful :  I  got  through  with  calm- 
ness, and  felt,  I  trust,  thankful  for  better  strength  than  my 
ovra..  Arrangements  were  made  for  my  continuance  in  Glas- 
gow several  weeks,  and  during  that  period  I  had  ample  oppor- 
tunities of  becoming  well  acquainted  with  Dr.  Chalmers's 
*  manner  of  life,'  as  well  as  of  his  mighty  enterprises  for  the 
14 


162  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1823; 

temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  of  men.  Many  have  been  un- 
der the  impression  that  Dr.  Chalmers  was  more  a  man  of  pow- 
erful impulses,  who  achieved  wonderful  things  by  fits  and 
starts  of  burning  zeal,  than  of  systematic  persevering  applica- 
tion of  mind.  There  never  was  a  greater  mistake.  With  all 
his  transcendent  genius,  and  talent,  and  philanthropy,  I  am 
satisfied  that  the  main  secret  of  his  strength  lay  in  his  indom- 
itable resolution  to  master  whatever  he  undertook.  What  has 
been  considered  by  some  as  a  defect  was  indeed  an  excellence 
of  no  common  order.  When  convinced  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
address  himself  to  some  course  of  study  or  of  action,  he  con- 
centrated on  that  his  energies  of  mind  and  body,  and  with  in- 
defatigable assiduity  completed  his  work,  unless  some  urgent 
call  of  duty  which  did  not  admit  of  postponement,  inter- 
fered. Dr.  Chalmers  devoted  at  least  five  hours  each  day 
to  study ;  I  use  the  word  in  its  proper  sense ;  he  was 
thus  studiously  occupied  partly  before  breakfast,  and  thereaf- 
ter till  one  or  two  o'clock,  in  reading  and  composition. 
These  were  his  hours,  and  it  was  understood  that  they  were, 
except  in  the  event  of  some  special  emergency,  not  to  be 
invaded  by  friend  or  stranger.  It  being  midsummer  when 
I  first  resided  under  his  roof  he  generally  relaxed  for  two 
hours,  taking  some  favorite  walk,  and  kindly  inviting  me  to 
accompany  him.  The  Botanic  Garden  was  a  much  loved 
resort.  He  luxuriated  among  the  plants  and  flowers  of  the 
season,  and  delighted  to  examine  minutely  the  structure  and 
the  beauties  of  some  humble  production  that  would  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  a  less  practiced  eye.  He  said  to  me 
one  day,  after  he  had  been  rapt  in  admiration  of  Nature 
and  Nature's  God  — '  I  love  to  dwell  on  the  properties  of 
one  flower  at  a  time  ;  to  fix  my  mind  on  it  exclusively  un- 
til I  feel  that  it  has  taken  complete  hold  of  my  mind.  This 
is  a  peculiarity  of  my  constitution.  I  must  have  concen- 
tration of  thought  on  any  given  thing,  and  not  be  diverted 
from  it.'  My  attention  was  arrested  in  the  garden  by  a 
sunflower  of  large  dimensions  and  exquisite  coloring.  He 
said,  with    deep  emotion,  *  Oh,  that  we  could    so  open  our 


^T.  42.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  163 

hearts  to  the  beams  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  ! '  It  was 
in  such  scenes  that  one  not  only  saw  but  felt  that  the  train 
of  thought  was  heavenward — that  his  heart  and  his  treasure 
were  hi  heaven. 

"  He  dined  generally  at  half-past  four  o'clock  ;  and  it  was  Dr. 
Chalmers's  practice  to  sally  forth,  as  he  playfully  expressed  it, 
after  dinner,  from  his  house  in  Windsor-place  to  St.  John's 
parish,  spending  at  least  two  hours  several  nights  in  the  week 
among  his  parishioners.  In  these  visits  it  was  repeatedly  my 
high  privilege  to  accompany  him.  They  were  generally  short  but 
most  instructive — multum  in  2^cirvo.  He  possessed  a  singular 
power  of  stating  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  gospel  in  a  few 
comprehensive  and  most  weighty  sentences,  and  closed  each 

visit  Avith  a  most  appropriate  prayer The  more 

advanced  hours  of  the  evening  were  spent  in  a  less  onerous 
way — letter-writing,  or  the  literature  of  the  day,  or  the  society 
of  friends  who  partook  of  his  large-hearted  hospitality  and 
that  of  his  beloved  household.  In  no  respect  did  Dr.  Chal- 
mers present  a  more  attractive  example  of  all  that  is  kind  and 
lovely  than  in  the  bosom  of  his  own  family.  His  children 
w^ere  young,  but  they  were  to  him  objects  of  daily  and  most 
affectionate  interest ;  he  was  playful  among  them  even  to  occa- 
sional romping.  His  smile  of  fatherly  love  was  ever  ready  to 
encourage  their  approaches  ;  and  when  absent  for  a  few  weeks 
he  printed  little  letters  for  their  acceptance.  I  can  hardly 
trust  myself,  even  at  the  distance  of  so  many  years,  with  de- 
tailed references  to  that  once  happy  and  precious  home  in 
which  it  was  my  lot  to  spend  several  months.  The  united 
heads  of  it  have  been  removed  from  that  household  of  which 
they  were  at  once  the  ornament  and  the  glor}^ — revered — be- 
loved— shedding  down  on  children  and  domestics  sweet  and 
hallowed  influences,  binding  all  in  one  home-circle  of  warm  and 
steadfast  attachment.  I  may  be  permitted  here  to  record  my 
tribute  of  affectionate  reverence  for  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Chal- 
mers. To  have  been  the  wife  of  such  a  man  afforded  a  strong 
presumption  of  qualities  which  he  thoroughly  estimated  ;  and 
none  who  knew  his  lamented  wife  well  could  fail  to  be  satisfied 


164:  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1822. 

that  she  was  in  all  respects  a  helpmeet  for  her  distinguished 
husband.  Possessed  of  talents  decidedly  superior,  of  large 
and  varied  information,  of  warm-hearted  affections,  and  of 
what  is  infinitely  better,  enlightened  and  decided  piety,  Mrs. 
Chalmers  commanded  the  esteem  and  the  confidence  of  her 
family  and  her  friends.  Her  judgment  was  calm,  sound,  and 
comprehensive.  She  possessed  a  tact  and  a  delicacy  of  percep- 
tion which  fitted  her  for  being  a  wise  and  faithful  counselor. 
Dr.  Chalmers  had  unlimited  confidence  in  her  discretion.  He 
felt  that  her  coincidence  with  him  in  opinion  or  in  plans  was 
of  great  value.  She  strengthened  his  hands  and  encouraged 
his  heart  in  every  labor  of  love.  Nor  did  she  ever  forget  the 
limits  of  a  woman's  sphere  ;  exquisite  feminine  delicacy  was 
united  with  great  vigor  and  promptitude  of  mind.  Habitually 
cheerful  and  happy,  there  was  a  sunshine  of  the  soul  which 
even  the  clouds  of  affliction  did  not  obscure.  Her  health  fre- 
quently suflfered,  but  this  trial  served  to  bring  out  more  fully 
the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit.  Thoroughly  conver- 
sant with  Dr.  Chalmers's  views  in  regard  to  many  exciting 
questions,  she  entered  into  his  enthusiastic  defenses  and  expo- 
sitions of  them  with  her  whole  heart ;  and  with  what  gentle 
aflfection  she  poured  a  healing  balm  into  the  Avaters  when 
ruffled,  or  in  danger  of  being  so,  tendering  some  word  in  sea- 
son that  bound  up  the  wound  which  ignorance  or  envy  had 
inflicted.  Her  kindness  to  myself  during  my  repeated  sojourn- 
ings  I  trust  that  I  shall  never  forget.  I  experienced  in  her 
society  much  that  was  calculated  to  guide  my  inexperience, 
and  to  strengthen  me  for  private  and  public  duty.  Her  dis- 
cernment of  character  was  remarkable.  It  seemed  as  if  by 
intuition  she  could  at  once  discriminate  between  the  true  and 
the  false-hearted,  and  yet  there  was  the  charity  which  hopeth 
all  things.  As  a  wife,  a  mother,  a  mistress,  a  friend,  a  disci- 
ple of  Him  who  was  meek  and  lowly  in  spirit,  few  are  better 
entitled  to  aflfection's  warmest  tribute.  It  was  my  mournful 
privilege  to  be  with  her  on  that  day  which  covered  Scotland's 
church  and  people  in  sackcloth  ;  and  after  the  mortal  remains 
of  the  husband  who  had  been  so  many  years  the  dearest  object 


^T.  42.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  165 

of  love  were  deposited  in  the  grave,  not  one  murmuring  or 
impatient  word  escaped  her  hps  ;  all  was  lowly  submission  to 
her  Father's  good  and  righteous  will  —  a  widow  indeed,  but 
firmly  trusting  in  the  widow's  God,  and  raising  her  agonized 
yet  confiding  heart  to  Him  who  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief.  The  conflict  of  nature  was  severe,  but 
the  victory  of  faith  was  not  denied.  Her  sainted  spirit  had 
communion  in  its  sorrows  with  the  unsufFering  inhabitants  of 
heaven,  and  after  a  brief  season  of  earthly  tribulation,  she, 
too,  has  entered  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God. 
May  we  be  indeed  followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and 
patience  inherit  the  promises." 

In  all  his  correspondence  with  the  various  members  of  the 
family,  while  printing  letters  with  his  pen  for  the  children,  or 
meeting  the  caustic  skepticism  of  his  brother  James  as  well  as 
when  responding  to  the  piety  of  his  mother,  his  wife  and  favor- 
ite sister,  and  while  adapting  his  manner  to  the  characteristics 
of  each,  and  writing  familiarly  of  those  topics  of  most  interest 
to  his  correspondent  for  the  time,  one  topic  is  invariably  urged 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  the  great  topic  of  peace  with  God 
through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

His  hospitality  was  large  and  genial.  His  social  nature 
encouraged  the  visits  of  friends  and  parishioners  ;  beside  which 
his  system  of  parochial  instruction  brought  around  him  those 
numerous  persons  who  contributed  their  voluntary  assistance 
therein,  and  his  reputation  rendering  him  an  object  of  popular 
interest  brought  multitudes  of  strangers  as  guests  into  his 
house.  Though  occasionally  complaining  of  the  latter  intru- 
sion, it  was  not  in  his  nature  to  repel  it.  Provided  only  his 
hours  of  study  were  uninterrupted  "  there  was  scarcely  any 
wearying  of  him  by  any  succession  of  visitors  however  nume- 
rous or  varied.  There  have  been  at  times  three  different 
rooms  full  of  people  waiting  for  him,  and  when  he  issued  from 
his  retirement  he  had  a  cordial  welcome  ready  for  each  one  of 
them."  No  feature  in  his  personal  character  was  more  promi 
nent  than  his  love  of  society  and  his  large  capacity  for  appre- 
ciating diversified  phases  of  humanity;   while  enjoying   the 


166  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1822. 

refinements  of  the  highest  and  most  pohshed,  he  could  enter 
with  the  truest  sympathy  into  all  the  humble  joys  and 
sorrows  of  the  poor,  and  from  the  high  pursuit  of  his  own 
meditations  he  could  enter  with  the  most  genial  afifection  into 
the  conversation  of  youth  and  its  zeal  in  rudimentary 
knowledge. 

"I  think  it  was  1818,  or  1819,"  says  Mr.  Colquhoun,  ''that 
Dr.  Chalmers  came  to  Killermont.  I  have  received  (fori  was 
not  then  at  home)  an  account  of  one  incident  of  his  visit  from 
my  friend  Mr.  Dundas,  the  sheriff  of  Selkirkshire,  which  is  too 
characteristic  to  be  omitted.  Our  family  circle  was  then  un- 
broken, and  among  them  my  eldest  sister,  who,  to  her  many 
accomplishments,  added  the  study  of  botany,  attracted  Dr. 
Chalmers's  attention.  With  his  usual  warm  interest  in  the 
pursuits  of  the  young,  he  talked  with  her  on  that  subject,  and 
examined  the  flora  which  she  had  collected.  One  plant  in  the 
series  was  wanting,  and  he  inquired  why  ;  on  her  telling  him 
that  she  had  not  been  able  to  find  it,  he  said  it  was  surely  to 
be  had  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  subject  dropped  for  that 
evening.  The  next  morning,  Avhen  the  family  assembled  for 
prayers.  Dr.  Chalmers  did  not  appear,  and  his  bedroom  was 
deserted.  The  family  sat  down  to  breakfast  without  him,  nor 
was  it  till  breakfast  was  half  over  that  he  came  into  the  room, 
his  hat  in  his  hand,  tired  and  heated  from  a  long  walk,  but 
carrying  with  him  the  missing  plant,  which  he  presented  to 
my  sister.  It  is  needless  to  say  how  much  this  trait  affected 
the  young  hearts  that  were  present,  as  it  has  remained  im- 
pressed on  Mr.  Dundas  to  the  present  day. 

"  Dr.  Chalmers's  next  visit  to  Killermont  must  have  been 
in  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1822,  and  we  all  recollect  the 
interest  which  he  showed  in  conversing  with  myself,  then  at 
Oxford,  and  with  my  brother,  then  quite  a  boy,  on  the  subject 
of  our  respective  studies.  It  was  not  the  manner  of  a  man 
who  condescended  to  minds  far  his  inferiors,  but  as  if  he  be- 
came one  of  us,  and  our  studies  were  as  keenly  relished  by 
him,  as  if  he  were  himself  engaged  in  them.  To  my  brother 
he  talked  eagerly  of  his  boyish  studies ;  of  me,   he  inquired 


^T.  43.  LIFE    OF    DB.    CHALMERS.  167 

much  of  an  Oxford  course,  and  seemed  to  listen  with  as  much 
delight  to  my  account  of  Aristotle's  ethics,  which  he  compared 
with  his  favorite  Butler,  as  though  the  Oxford  student  could 
give  instead  of  gaining  information  ;  and  in  his  walks  with  us 
his  delights  in  nature  were  more  keen  than  those  of  anj'-  of  the 
party  ;  and  while  rowing  in  the  boat  on  the  river  Kelvin,  gath- 
ering the  water-lilies,  of  which  I  remember  he  had  an  intense 
admiration,  his  glee  was  as  boyish  as  ours. 

"  Some  years  afterward,  he  passed  several  days  at  Killer- 
mont  ;  our  family  circle  was  then  sorely  broken,  and  there 
remained  only  two  of  the  sisters  whom  he  had  before  seen, 
but  I  well  remember  that  to  one  of  these,  who  died  the  fol- 
lowing summer,  his  conversation  on  religious  subjects  was  of 
the  utmost  benefit.  She  saw,  along  with  the  greatness,  the 
simplicity  and  tenderness  of  his  mind,  and  was  encouraged  in 
some  walks  which  she  took  with  him,  to  confide  to  him  her 
doubts  and  difiiculties.  I  wish  I  had  preserved  the  letter  in 
which,  after  her  death,  he  alluded  to  this,  and  spoke  with  char- 
acteristic force  of  the  preparedness  which  he  had  noticed  in 
her  heart  for  the  great  change  which  was  then  before  her.  But, 
mixed  with  all  that  readiness  to  converse  on  religious  subjects, 
was  the  same  buoyant  delight  in  literature,  the  arts,  and  the 
beauties  of  nature.  I  recollect  his  profound  admiration  for 
some  casts  from  busts  of  the  great  painters  and  architects  in 
the  capitol  at  Rome,  from  which,  he  said,  he  took  in  great  im- 
pressions— the  exquisite  enjoyment  when,  riding  in  the  after- 
noon on  a  quiet  pony,  he  was  taken  to  see  the  distant  views 
of  Ben  Lomond  and  Loch  Lomond.  His  habit,  I  remember, 
was  to  go  to  his  room  after  breakfast,  and  to  remain  there  till 
one  or  two  o'clock  engaged  in  writing,  at  times  telling  us  that 
he  had  written  without  intermission,  and,  at  other  times,  that 
he  had  a  blank  morning,  and  had  not  done  a  quarter  of  an 
hour's  w^ork  with  his  pen  —  his  practice  being,  as  he  told  me, 
afcer  attempting  some  time  unsuccessfully,  to  lay  his  pen  down 
and  take  up  a  book  upon  some  subject  entirely  different  from 
that  on  which  he  was  writing,  until  the  inspiration  of  compo- 
sition returned  upon  him,  and  he  then  resumed  his  work.     His 


168  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1828. 

habits  in  society  varied.  Generally,  when  at  his  ease,  and 
when  his  mind  was  not  occupied  with  a  train  of  thought,  his 
conversation  was  full  of  interest,  and  it  became  so  almost 
always  when  those  who  were  Avith  him  touched  upon  a  congenial 
subject,  when  he  threw  himself  into  it  with  all  his  peculiar 
strength  and  eloquence  of  language,  combined  with  the  most 
unaffected  simplicity,  but  at  times  I  have  seen  him  perfectly 
silent,  and  wearing  that  blank  look  which  he  could  throw  into 
his  countenance  when  the  mind  was  otherwise  engaged.  I 
remember  the  late  Lady  Colquhoun  gave  me  an  instance  of 
this,  which,  I  imagine,  must  have  occurred  about  the  same 
time.  He  had  gone,  for  the  first  time,  to  pay  a  visit  at  Ross- 
dhu,  and  Lady  C.  awaited  his  arrival  with  great  anxiety  ; 
when,  however,  he  was  shown  into  the  drawing-room,  after  the 
first  salutations  were  over,  he  sat  perfectly  silent,  wearing  his 
blank  look.  She  tried  a  variety  of  subjects,  but  in  vain,  and 
he  soon  retired  to  his  room.  On  coming  down  to  dinner,  he 
apologized,  in  the  most  amiable  manner,  for  his  silence,  con- 
fessing, that  a  train  of  thought  on  the  subject  on  which  he  was 
writing,  had  occurred  to  him  on  his  journey  to  Rossdhu,  and 
that  he  was  terrified  lest,  if  he  entered  into  conversation,  he 
should  lose  it  before  it  was  secured  on  paper." 

The  time  was  now  drawing  near  for  removal  to  his  new  field 
of  labor,  yet  under  the  zeal  of  accomplishing  his  parochial 
improvements,  no  advance  had  yet  been  made  in  preparation 
therefor.  In  the  summer  of  1823,  he  was  invited  to  occupy 
the  house  of  Blochairn,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Glasgow,  that 
some  leisure  might  be  secured  for  that  purpose  ;  but  so  strong 
was  the  hold  of  his'  parish  upon  his  mind,  that  very  little  ad- 
vantage was  thereby  gained.  There  was  no  falling  off  in  de- 
votion to  the  church  occasioned  by  his  connection  with  the 
university.  He  declared  then,  and  his  career  afterward  proved, 
that  the  church  held  still,  and  should  always  hold  the  highest 
place  in  his  heart,  and  that  the  hope  of  serving  the  cause 
of  the  Redeemer  more  extensively,  was  his  principal  motive 
for  the  change. 

"  On  Wednesday,  the  5th  of  November,  he  laid  before  the 


^T.    43.  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  169 

Presbytery  of  Glasgow  his  letter  of  resignation  of  the  church 
and  parish  of  St.  John's,  which,  after  many  expressions  of  af- 
fectionate regret  from  different  members,  the  Presbytery  was 
pleased  to  accept."  It  was  understood  that  his  farewell  dis- 
course would  be  preached  on  the  succeeding  Sabbath.  From 
the  attraction  of  all  his  public  appearances  in  Glasgow,  it  was 
to  be  expected  that  crowds  would  throng  the  church  on  that 
occasion.  Indeed,  for  weeks  beforehand,  seats  had  been  secured, 
and  even  the  standing  room  in  the  aisles,  on  the  pulpit  steps, 
and  round  the  precentor's  desk,  was  already  all  engaged  by 
tickets  ;  yet  on  the  morning  of  that  day  entrance  had  to  be 
secured  to  the  holders  of  the  tickets,  by  a  company  of  police  ; 
and  finally,  such  was  the  number  and  persistency  of  the  crowd, 
that  a  detachment  of  soldiers  was  stationed  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  church,  to  keep  order  and  secure  admission  for 
the  proper  occupants  of  the  pews;  and  after  all,  the  house  was 
crammed  with  twice  the  number  it  could  comfortably  accommo- 
date. *'The  pew  in  which  I  sat,"  says  one  who  was  present, 
"contained  fourteen  sittings,  but  on  that  occasion  twenty-six  per- 
sons were  crammed  into  it,  some  sitting,  some  standing  on  the 
floor,  others  standing  on  the  seat."  The  confusion  grew 
within  as  the  pressure  somewhat  abated  from  without ;  and  it 
was  no  gentle  or  very  Sabbath  frame  of  spirit  that  prevailed. 
At  length  the  preacher  rose  within  that  pulpit  from  which  he 
was  to  address  his  hearers  for  the  last  time.  In  a  moment  the 
bustle  ceased,  and  all  the  varied  expressions  of  that  great 
crowd  of  faces  was  turned  into  one  uniform  gaze  of  fixed  and 
profound  attention.  After  prayer  and  praise,  the  text,  from 
Psalm  cxxxvii,  5 — 6,  was  twice  distinctly  read,  and  its  general 
lessons  having  been  unfolded  and  impressed,  and  the  preacher 
coming  at  the  close  to  speak  to  those  from  Avhom,  as  their  min- 
ister, he  was  now  to  be  finally  dissevered — "  I  will  never  for- 
get," he  said,  *'  that  it  is  your  princely  beneficence  which  has 
carried  me  forward  in  covering  this  parish  with  those  institutions 
both  of  scholarship  and  piety  that  have  done  most  to  grace 
and  to  dignify  the  people  of  our  beloved  land.  I  will  never 
forget  the  labors  of  that  devoted  band  to  whose  union  and 
15 


170  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1828. 

perseverance  I  still  look  for  even  greater  services  than  they 
have  yet  rendered  to  the  cause  of  christian  philanthropy.  I 
will  never  forget  the  unexpected  welcome  and  kindness  of  my 
parochial  families,  among  whom  the  cause,  that  to  the  superfi- 
cial eye  looks  unpopular  and  austere,  hath  now  found  its  con- 
clusive establishment.  I  never  will  forget  the  indulgence  and 
the  friendly  regards  of  this  congregation  ;  and  I  beg  to  assure 
each  and  all  of  them,  that  if  a  cold  and  ungenial  apathy, 
whether  of  look  or  of  manner,  was  all  the  return  that  they  ever 
could  obtain  for  their  demonstrations  of  christian  affection 
toward  myself,  it  was  not  because  I  had  not  the  conviction  of 
that  manifold  good- will  which  was  on  every  side  of  me,  but 
that  moving  in  a  wide  and  busy  sphere,  and  hurried  in  the 
course  of  a  few  moments  from  one  act  of  intercourse  to  ano- 
ther, with  more  than  a  thousand  of  my  fellows,  mj  jaded  and 
overborne  feelings  could  not  keep  pace  with  it.  There  are  hun- 
dreds and  hundreds  more  whom  in  person  I  could  not  over- 
take, but  whom  in  the  hours  of  cool  and  leisurely  reflection  I 
shall  know  how  to  appreciate.  And  when  I  gaze  on  that  quar- 
ter— the  richest  of  all  the  wide  horizon  in  the  treasures  of  cor- 
diality and  grateful  remembrance — then  sweeter  than  to  the  eye 
are  those  tints  of  loveliness  which  the  western  sun  stretches  in 
golden  clouds  above  it  will  be  the  thought  of  all  the  worth  and 
the  tenderness  and  the  noble  generosity  that  are  there.  Oh  ! 
I  never  can  forget  the  city  of  so  many  christian  and  kind- 
hearted  men.  I  never  will  forget  the  countenance  I  have  got- 
ten from  its  upright  and  patriotic  citizens 

From  the  deep  exhaustion  —  not  incurred  in  the  treatment 
of  my  parochial  managements,  for  at  all  times  was  there  a 
charm  and  tranquillity  in  these — but  from  the  deep  exhaustion 
of  hurry  and  fatigue,  and  manifold  distractions  from  without, 
have  my  footsteps  been  lured  into  a  most  congenial  resting- 
place,  among  whose  academic  bowers  Rutherford  and  Haly- 
burton  spent  the  evening  of  their  days,  and  amid  whose  vener- 
able ruins  their  bodies  now  sleep  until  the  resurrection  of  the 
just.  Should  those  high  and  heavenly  themes  on  which  they 
expatiated  through  life,  and  which  shed  a  glory  over  their 


iET.    43.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  171 

death-beds,  ever  cease  to  be  dear  unto  my  bosom — should  the 
glare  of  the  world's  philosophy  ever  seduce  me  from  the  wis- 
dom and  simplicity  of  the  faith — should  Jesus  Christ  and  Him 
crucified  not  be  the  end  of  all  my  labors  in  expounding  the 
law  of  righteousness,  then  let  the  fearful  judgment  of  heaven 
blight  and  overcast  the  faculties  that  I  have  thus  prostituted. 
*  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem — if  I  forget  thee,  0  thou  church 
and  city  of  my  God — let  my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning. 
If  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof 
of  my  mouth  :  if  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy.* 

When  Dr.  Chalmers  descended  from  the  pulpit  it  was  entered 
by  the  Rev.  Edward  Irving,  who  invited  the  vast  congrega- 
tion to  accompany  him,  as  with  solemn  pomp  and  impressive 
unction  he  poured  out  a  prayer  for  that  honored  minister  of 
God  who  had  just  retired  from  among  them.  The  church  had 
been  so  closely  packed  that  it  took  forty  minutes  to  empty 
itself;  and  before  the  last  of  the  hearers  had  left  St.  John's 
Dr.  Chalmers,  who  had  barely  time  to  transfer  himself  from  the 
statelier  to  the  humbler  edifice,  had  commenced  the  afternoon 
service  in  the  chapel,  of  Ease." 

In  his  sermon  before  that  audience,  which  was  preached 
from  Heb.  iii,  13,  he  introduced  a  touching  reference  to  the 
happy  death  of  a  poor  weaver,  who  had  been  an  infidel  until 
within  a  few  months  of  his  death,  in  connection  with  which  he 
quoted  a  few  simple  verses  inscribed  by  the  man  upon  a  Bible 
presented  to  his  son,  and  expressive  of  his  dying  wishes  that 
his  boy  might  be  brought  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  Pursu- 
ing the  train  of  thought  suggested  thereby,  the  preacher  pro- 
ceeded:  "  This,  doubtless,  is  but  one  example,  yet  enough  to 
prove  how  worth)''  of  christian  cultivation  are  those  vast  and 
untrodden  spaces,  that  teem  with  families  who  are  altogether 
beyond  the  pale  of  the  word  and  of  ordinances — enough  to 
prove  that  there  is  not  an  aggregate  of  human  beings  through 
which  a  minister  of  the  gospel  might  not  ply  his  unwearied 
rounds,  and  earn  the  triumphs  of  a  high  and  heavenly  apostle- 
ship — enough  to  set  at  rest  the  obstinate  incredulity  of  those 
who  affirm  of  the  cities  of  our  land,  that  such  is  their  hard- 


172  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1823. 

favored  and  impracticable  resistance  to  all  the  endeavors, 
whether  of  kindness  or  of  Christianity,  as  to  give  the  visionary- 
character  of  a  dream  to  the  dear  and  delightful  prospect  of 
their  ultimate  reformation.  I  speak  to  the  very  poorest  of  my 
hearers  :  to  you  also  belong  the  high  capacities  of  an  immortal 
spirit ;  to  you  belong  all  the  elements  of  moral  worth  and 
moral  greatness  ;  to  you  the  path  of  glory  is  open,  and  the 
exalted  High  Priest,  who  once  sojourned  in  this  world  amid 
pains,  and  privations,  and  indignities  more  severe  than  all  that 
any  disciple  of  His  is  ever  doomed  to  encounter.  He,  from  the 
golden  treasury  of  those  gifts  and  graces  wherewith  He  is  in- 
vested, is  ready  even  now  to  shower  upon  you  everything  that 
is  needful  either  to  bless  you  in  time  or  to  fit  you  for  eternity. 
I  can  vouch  for  the  comfort  wherewith  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
might  move  from  family  to  family  throughout  the  vicinities  of 
this  immediate  population.  I  can  vouch  for  the  perfect  gra- 
ciousness  of  a  kind  and  honest  welcome  from  you  all.  I  can 
vouch  for  the  open  door  of  access  that  there  is  in  every  house 
to  the  visitations  of  christian  philanthropy  ;  and  that  even  in 
towns  which  are  conceived  to  teem  all  over  with  loathsome  dis- 
sipation and  profligate  companionship,  there  is  a  most  warm 
and  willing  response  to  the  familiar  converse  and  the  domestic 
services  of  the  minister.  May  he  who  labors  within  these 
walls  be  enabled  to  verify  this  by  his  own  personal  experience. 
May  the  countenance  of  heaven  rest  upon  all  his  ministrations, 
and  while  engaged  in  the  Sabbath  exercises  of  piety,  or  in  the 
week-day  intercourse  with  your  families,  may  a  blessing  from 
on  high  attend  every  footstep  of  his  progress  in  the  midst  of 
you.  Meanwhile  I  will  take  leave  of  you.  No  breaking  up 
of  my  official  relationship  will  lessen  that  close  and  affecting 
relationship  which  I  shall  ever  feel  toward  your  families.  If 
God  be  pleased  to  spare  me,  there  is  no  house  where  I  would 
more  willingly  resume,  for  a  season,  the  ministrations  of  the 
word  of  life,  no  portion  of  the  great  vineyard  of  Christ  in 
which  I  shall  ever  feel  a  more  peculiar  interest  and  property 
than  that  which  is  attached  to  it.  May  the  blessings  of  God 
rest  upon  you  all.     May  parents  have  great  comfort  of  their 


JET.  43.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  173 

children ;  and  may  children,  brought  up  in  the  ways  of  piety, 
rise  around  their  parents  and  call  them  blessed.  Above  all, 
may  you  be  found  in  that  way  of  pleasantness  and  path  of 
peace  which  leads  to  heaven.  A  few  years  more  and  the 
storms  of  this  changing  life  shall  all  have  blown  over  us.  Let 
our  prayers  often  meet  in  the  upper  sanctuary  ;  and  when  the 
morn  of  the  resurrection  cometli  may  we  be  found  side  by 
side  at  the  right  hand  of  our  Judge  and  Saviour." 

His  multifarious  labors  for  Glasgow  were  now  brought  to  an 
end,  and  though  he  ceased  not  to  keep  an  eye  upon  the  opera- 
tions he  had  set  in  motion,  and  sometime  afterward  put  to  a 
hand  to  help  them  on,  he  was  no  longer  to  be  connected  with 
them  as  a  prime  mover.  Of  the  results  of  those  remarkable 
eight  years.  Dr.  Hanna  presents  the  following  summary  :  "A 
few  months  after  his  settlement  in  Glasgow,  Dr.  Chalmers  had 
wept  over  the  grave  of  his  beloved  friend,  Thomas  Smith,  and 
a  few  weeks  previous  to  his  departure  from  Glasgow,  he  stood 
by  the  deathbed  of  this  converted  weaver.  He  saw  the  first 
and  the  last  fruits  of  his  Glasgow  ministry  seized  by  the  hand 
of  death,  while  ripening  under  the  eye  of  the  earthly  husband- 
man, and  laid  up  in  the  heavenly  garner.  But  who  could  tell 
him  of  the  numbers  who,  during  the  course  of  these  eight 
years,  and  under  that  ministry,  had  been  savingly  impressed 
by  Divine  truth  ?  We  know  of  the  thoughtless  young  officer, 
who,  flaunting  in  idle  vacancy  through  the  city  streets  on  a 
Sabbath  forenoon,  and  attracted  by  the  eager  crowds  which  he 
saw  pouring  into  the  Tron  church,  turned  into  that  church  as 
he  would  have  done  into  a  theater,  but  found  it  to  be  indeed 
the  house  of  God — to  him  the  very  gate  to  heaven.  We  know 
of  the  fashionable  lady,  full  of  taste  and  high  refinement,  but 
devoid  of  all  earnest  thought  or  care  about  her  immortal  soul, 
driving  from  her  mansion  in  a  neighboring  county  to  be  re- 
galed by  the'  eloquence  of  the  celebrated  orator,  but  found  of 
Him  whom  she  sought  not,  and  turned  effectually  unto  God. 
We  know  of  the  busy  bustling  merchant,  immersed  in  all  the 
calculations  of  this  world's  traffic,  lifted  to  the  sublimer  calcu- 
lations  of  eternity,  and  from  the  very  whirl   of  this  world's 


174:  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1823. 

most  powerful  engrossments  won  over  to  a  life  of  faith  and 
devoted  philanthropy.  We  know  of  the  aspiring  student,  sent 
by  thoughtless  parents  to  college  to  prepare  for  the  christian 
ministry  —  inflamed  by  literary  ambition,  but  dead  in  heart 
to  the  love  of  Christ,  awakened  as  from  a  trance,  and  made  to 
feel  the  true  nature  of  that  office  into  which  he  had  been  heed- 
lessly rushing,  ushered  into  it  fired  with  the  fresh  fervors  of 
the  all- constraining  love.  Of  these  we  can  not  speak  more 
particularly,  nor  can  we  oflfer  any  estimate  of  the  number  of 
those  whose  first  religious  impressions  are  traceable  to  the 
same  earthly  source,  but  we  may  be  permitted  to  express  the 
opinion,  that  with  all  the  transient  and  tumultuous  excitement 
of  its  mere  pulpit  oratory,  there  has  rarely  been  a  ministry  of 
equal  length  as  largely  blessed  of  the  Divine  Spirit  to  the  con- 
version of  individual  souls.  The  more  general  efifects  of  that 
ministry,  in  its  bearings  upon  the  religious  condition  of  Glas- 
gow and  of  Scotland,  lie  open  enough  to  observation.  When 
Dr.  Chalmers  came  to  Glasgow,  by  the  great  body  of  the  upper 
classes  of  society  evangelical  doctrines  were  nauseated  and 
despised :  when  he  left  it,  even  by  those  who  did  not  bow  to 
their  influence,  these  doctrines  were  acknowledged  to  be  indeed 
the  very  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  When  Dr.  Chalmers  came  to 
Glasgow,  in  the  eye  of  the  multitude,  evangelism  stood  con- 
founded with  a  driveling  sanctimoniousness  or  a  sour-minded 
asceticism  :  when  he  left  it,  from  all  such  false  associations  the 
Christianity  of  the  New  Testament  stood  clearly  and  nobly 
redeemed.  When  Dr.  Chalmers  came  to  Glasgow,  for  nearly 
a  century,  the  magistrates  and  town  council  had  exercised  the 
city  patronage  in  a  spirit  determinately  anti-evangelical  :  when 
he  left  it,  so  complete  was  the  revolution  which  had  been  ef- 
fected, that  from  that  time  forward  none  but  evangelical  cler- 
gymen were  appointed  by  the  city  patrons.  When  Dr.  Chal- 
mers came  to  Glasgow,  there  and  elsewhere  over  Scotland  there 
were  many  most  devoted  clergymen  of  the  Establishment  who 
had  given  themselves  up  wholly  to  the  ministry  of  the  word  and 
to  prayer,  but  there  was  not  one  in  whose  faith  and  practice 
week-day  ministrations  had  the  place  or  power  which  he  assigned 


^T.  48.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  175 

to  them  ;  when  he  left  it,  he  had  exhibited  such  a  model  of 
fidelity,  diligence  and  activity,  in  all  departments  of  ministerial 
labor,  as  told  finally  upon  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  whole 
ministry  of  Scotland.  When  Dr.  Chalmers  came  to  Glasgow, 
imnoticed  thousands  of  the  city  population  were  sinking  into 
ignorance,  infidelity  and  vice,  and  his  eye  was  the  first  in  this 
country  to  foresee  to  what  a  fearful  magnitude  that  evil,  if  suf- 
fered to  grow  on  unchecked,  would  rise  :  when  he  left  it,  his 
ministry  in  that  city  remained  behind  him  in  permanent  warn- 
ing to  a  nation  which  had  been  but  slow  to  learn  that  the  great- 
est of  all  questions,  both  for  statesmen  and  for  churchmen,  is 
the  condition  of  those  untaught  and  degraded  thousands  who 
swarm  now  around  the  base  of  the  social  edifice,  and  whose 
brawny  arms  may  yet  grasp  its  pillars  to  shake  or  to  destroy. 
When  Dr.  Chalmers  came  to  Glasgow,  in  the  literary  circles  of 
the  Scottish  metropolis  a  thinly  disguised  infidelity  sat  on  the 
seats  of  greatest  influence,  and  smiled  or  scoffed  at  a  vital  ener- 
getic faith  in  the  great  and  distinctive  truths  of  revelation,  while 
widely  over  his  native  land  the  spirit  of  a  frigid  indifference 
to  religion  prevailed  :  when  he  left  it,  the  current  of  public 
sentiment  had  begun  to  set  in  a  contrary  direction,  and  al- 
though it  took  many  years,  and  the  labor  of  many  other  hands 
to  carry  that  healthful  change  onward  to  maturity,  yet  I  be- 
lieve that  it  is  not  over-estimating  it  to  say,  that  it  was  mainly 
by  Dr.  Chalmers's  ministry  in  Glasgow — by  his  efiforts  at  this 
period  in  the  pulpit  and  through  the  press — that  the  tide  of 
national  opinion  and  sentiment  was  turned. 

And  if  Glasgow  was  honored  in  numbering  Dr.  Chalmers  so 
long  among  her  citizens,  and  in  having  been  the  sphere  in 
which  labors  so  eminently  useful  had  been  prosecuted,  she  proved 
herself  not  unworthy  of  the  privilege.  From  her  oflficial  men 
he  always  received  the  most  courteous  treatment,  and  to  their 
kindness  he  was  indebted  for  the  facilities  afforded  him  in  car- 
rying his  plans  into  execution.  Her  citizens  vied  with  one  an- 
other in  all  kindly  recognitions  of  one  of  whom  all  were  proud, 
while  among  the  narrower  circle  of  his  own  congregation  many 
personal   attachments  were  formed,  purer,  deeper,  and  more 


176  LIFE   OF   DK.    OHALMEKS.  1S23. 

lasting  than  any  afterward  created  during  a  long  lifetime  of 
affectionate  intercourse  with  his  fellow-men." 

Just  before  his  departure  a  dinner  was  given  in  his  honor, 
presided  over  by  the  Lord  Provost,  at  which  no  less  than 
three  hundred  and  forty  gentlemen  sat  down.  The  diversity 
of  opinions  and  parties  there  represented,  was  a  testimony  to 
the  recognized  liberality  of  him,  out  of  regard  to  whom  they 
had  come  together.  Upon  the  day  after  this  entertainment. 
Dr.  Chalmers  set  out  for  St.  Andrew's,  whither  he  was  accom- 
panied by  a  number  of  gentlemen  from  Glasgow,  who,  after 
attending  at  the  ceremony  of  his  installment  into  his  new  office, 
on  Friday,  the  14th,  and  upon  his  introductory  lecture  the 
next  day,  contributed  to  the  harmony  of  the  whole  proceed- 
ing by  entertaining  at  dinner  the  two  principals,  all  the  profes- 
sors, and  a  number  of  gentlemen  from  the  neighborhood  of  St. 
Andrew's. 

Dr.  Chalmers's  family  joined  him  toward  the  beginning  of 
January.  In  the  meanwhile  he  was  pleasantly  accommodated 
in  the  house  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Duncan,  then  Professor  of  Math- 
ematics in  the  University. 


CHAPTER    X. 

The  labor  upon  which  Dr.  Chalmers  had  now  entered  was 
hardly  less  arduous  than  that  which  he  had  left  behind.  His 
previous  occupations  were  such  as  to  preclude  any  extensive 
preparation  for  succeeding  duties.  He  consequently  opened 
his  course  at  St.  Andrew's  with  lectures  sufficient  for  only  a 
week  or  two,  and  as  he  wished  to  keep  his  written  composi- 
tions in  advance  of  their  delivery,  it  became  an  object  of  some 
anxiety  to  him  to  observe  the  distance  between  them  narrow- 
ing as  the  time  passed  on.  **  I  shall  be  lecturing,"  he  writes 
in  March,  "  for  six  weeks  yet,  and  am  very  nearly  from  hand 
to  mouth  with  my  preparations.  I  have  the  prospect  of  win- 
ning the  course,  though  it  will  be  by  no  more  than  half  a  neck  ; 
but  I  like  the  employment  vastly."  *'  How  like  and  yet  how 
different  this  first  session  of  Dr.  Chalmers  in  the  moral  philo- 
sophy chair  at  St.  Andrew's,  and  the  first  session  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown  in  the  same  chair  at  Edinburgh.  Both  began 
their  winter  labors  almost  wholly  unfurnished  with  written 
preparations  ;  but  the  one  came  to  them  from  the  retirement 
of  the  country,  and  after  a  summer  of  quiet  reading  and  reflec- 
tion ;  the  other  from  the  whirl  of  city  life,  and  from  the  tumul- 
tuous occupations  of  a  different  and  most  engrossing  profession. 
Both  under  the  excitement  of  the  occasion,  and  with  the  same 
rare  facility  of  rapid  composition,  threw  off  writings  which 
scarcely  required  or  admitted  emendation,  in  which  specula- 
tions the  most  original  and  profound  were  invested  with  all  the 
charms  of  a  fascinating  eloquence.  But  Dr.  Brown  trusted 
much  more  than  Dr.  Chalmers  to  the  spur  of  the  moment.  He 
seldom  began  to  write  his  lectures  till  late  in  the  evening  of  the 
day  which  preceded  their  delivery.  Upon  the  subjects  of 
many  of  them  he  had  not  reflected  till  he  sat  down,  and  many 
of  his  most  ingenious  theories  occurred  to  him  in  the  course 
of  composition.     Dr.  Chalmers  seldom  began  to  write  without 

(177) 


178  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1824. 

a  distinct  and  matured  conception  of  the  topics  which  he  in- 
tended to  discuss,  and  with  certain  broad  outlines  of  thought 
laid  down,  which  he  seldom  if  ever  traversed.  From  an  early 
period  in  the  morning  he  studied  at  regular  intervals  through- 
out the  day,  and  the  hour  which  saw  Dr.  Brown  fastened  to 
his  midnight  task  found  Dr.  Chalmers  relieved  and  at  leisure 
to  enjoy,  with  all  the  freedom  and  freshness  of  an  unburdened 
mind,  the  society  of  his  family  and  friends.  One  cannot  fol- 
low the  progress  of  either  throughout  their  first  session  of  pro- 
fessorial toil  without  the  feeling  that  we  are  contemplating  a 
singular  intellectual  feat,  performed  by  a  marvelously  gifted 
operator.  Yet  to  the  mode  of  operation  there  attaches  in  the 
one  instance  a  natural  healthiness  of  tone  and  manner  which 
belongs  not  to  the  other  ;  and  if  to  the  02ms  operaium  in  the  latter 
case  there  belongs  a  scientific  completeness  and  finish  which 
the  other  cannot  claim,  this  may  be  attributed  to  Dr.  Brown's 
greater  antecedent  familiarity  with  his  subject,  and  to  the  well- 
digested  plan  upon  which  his  labors  were  commenced  and 
carried  through," 

Though  pressed  into  the  execution  of  such  a  task,  and 
though  yielding  to  the  necessity,  he  enjoyed  its  excitement, 
Dr.  Chalmers  entertained  no  approbation  of  it  as  a  feat,  nay, 
he  deliberately  acknowledged  the  imperfections  of  his  course, 
and  that  they  were  due  to  the  want  of  adequate  time  in  which 
to  mature  thought  and  select  expression  "  I  cannot,"  he 
said,  "  pretend  to  summon,  as  if  by  the  wand  of  a  magician,  a 
finished  system  of  moral  philosophy  into  being  in  one  or  even 
in  two  years.  There  is  a  certain  showy  and  superficial  some- 
thing which  can  be  done  in  very  short  time.  One  may  act  the 
part  of  a  harlequin  with  his  mind  as  well  as  with  his  body  ;  and 
there  is  a  sort  of  mental  agility  which  always  gives  me  the 
impression  of  a  harlequin.  Anything  which  can  be  spoken  of 
as  a  feat  is  apt  to  suggest  this  association.  That  man,  for 
example,  was  a  thorough  harlequin,  in  both  senses  of  the 
word,  who  boasted  that  he  could  throw  off  a  hundred  verses 
of  poetry  while  he  stood  upon  one  foot.  There  was  some- 
thing for  wonder  in  this ;  but  it  is  rarely  by  any  such  exploit 


^T.    44.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEKS.  179 

that  we  obtain  deep,  and  powerful,  and  enduring  poetry.  It 
is  by  dint  of  steady  labor — it  is  by  giving  enough  of  applica- 
tion to  the  work,  and  having  enough  of  time  for  the  doing  of 
it  —  it  is  by  regular  painstaking  and  the  plying  of  constant 
assiduities — it  is  by  these,  and  not  by  any  process  of  legerde- 
main, that  we  secure  the  strength  and  the  staple  of  real 
excellence." 

In  addition  to  the  regular  moral  philosophy  class  his  lecture- 
room  was  always  crowded  with  auditors  drawn  together  by  the 
reputation  of  his  eloquence,  and  retained  by  the  fascination  of 
his  views  and  manner.  Their  dehp-ht  not  findino^  sufficient 
utterance  in  the  daily  applause  with  which  they  greeted  him, 
a  design  was  contemplated  of  making  him  a  valuable  present, 
which  coming  to  his  knowledge  was  suppressed  by  his  own 
kindly  though  firm  discouragement. 

No  sooner  had  that  session  come  to  an  end  than  he  was 
busily  employed  in  preparation  for  the  approaching  General 
Assembly,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  as  an  elder  by  the 
borough  of  Anstruther.  Several  questions  of  interest  were  to 
come  before  that  body.  The  first  was  that  "respecting 
the  admission  of  Principal  Macfarlane  as  minister  of  the  High 
church  of  Glasgow."  In  the  debate  which  ensued  on  that 
subject,  "  the  leading  counsel  for  Dr.  Macfarlane  had  quoted 
and  laid  much  stress  upon  the  Act  of  the  Scottish  parliament 
of  1592,  by  which  Presbyteries  were  'bound  and  astricted  to 
receive  and  admit  every  qualified  presentee.'  Among  the 
leading  ecclesiastical  authorities  it  had  not  hitherto  been 
doubted  that,  in  the  exercise  of  her  own  inherent  authority, 
either  by  a  general  law  or  by  specific  enactment,  the  Church 
could  prevent  such  union  of  offices  as  that  now  contemplated. 
High  legal  authorities,  however,  now  began  to  hint  it  as  their 
conviction,  that  the  Church  could  not  do  so  without  acting  ille- 
gally, by  violating  the  statute  above  alluded  to.  To  the  doc- 
trine thus  newly  broached.  Dr.  Chalmers  alluded  in  the  close 
of  his  speech  in  words  upon  which  after  events  impress  a  pecu- 
liar significance  :  "I  do  not  at  all  enter  into  the  question  of 
your  power  to  lay  a  veto  on  the  presentation  in  this  instance, 


180  LIFE    OF    DK.    ClIALSIEKS.  1824. 

for  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  it :  tliat  presentation  has 
had  every  justice  done  to  it.  The  Presbytery  received  it 
to  their  notice,  and  with  all  the  forms  of  court ;  they  admitted 
it  to  lie  upon  their  table,  and  then  gave  their  full  and  delibe- 
rate regards  to  the  fitness  of  the  presentee.  On  the  question 
that  is  always  put  and  always  must  be  pronounced  upon  in  one 
way  or  other,  whether  the  presentation  shall  or  shall  not  be 
sustained,  they  did,  but  not  till  time  and  argument,  and  a  fair 
and  free  debate  were  allowed  to  the  consideration  of  it,  come 
to  a  negative.  For  reasons  strictly  ecclesiastical,  and  for 
which  these  ecclesiastical  guides  and  guardians  can  hold  up  an 
unabashed  face  in  society,  the)'-  laid  their  arrest  upon  the  pre- 
sentation by  refusing  to  sustain  it.  They  were  reasons  that 
bore  to  be  canvassed  before  one  of  our  superior  judicatories, 
and  for  which  that  judicatory  confirmed  our  decision.  We 
now  wait  the  sentence  of  our  ultimate  court ;  and  we  can  never 
once  dream  that  this  final  sentence,  if  given  in  our  favor,  is 
not  to  be  effective.  But  if  it  could  possibly  be  otherwise — if, 
on  the  plea  that  the  Church  hath  overstepped  her  boundaries, 
it  is  found  that  there  is  a  right  and  a  force  in  the  mere  pre- 
sentation which  shall  carry  it  over  all  your  resistance,  then  I 
cannot  imagine  a  feebler  insti-ument,  a  more  crippled  and  in- 
competent machinery,  than  our  Church  is  for  the  professed 
object  of  its  institution  ;  nor  do  I  see  how,  if  struck  with  impo- 
tency  like  this,  it  can  lift  an  arm  of  any  efficacy  to  protect  our 
Establishment  from  man}^  great  evils,  or  to  stay  the  progress 
of  a  very  sore  corruption  within  her  borders." 

Though  the  reforming  party  in  the  Church  were  defeated 
on  this  point,  they  were  not  discouraged ;  for  as  the  discussion 
had  been  left  very  much  to  themselves,  their  opponents  having 
more  confidence  in  their  numbers  than  their  arguments,  many 
reasons  unresponded  to  were  favorably  promulged,  and  "  when 
the  question  was  relieved  from  the  apparent  invidiousness  of 
resisting  the  claims  of  an  individual,  and  put  upon  its  broad 
and  general  grounds  they  were  more  hopeful  than  ever  of 
success." 

The  subject  of  pauperism  also  came  before  the  house  in  the 


MT.    44.  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  181 

form  of  a  resolution  to  petition  against  a  bill  then  before  par- 
liament, proposing  to  do  away  with  all  poor-rates  whatever. 
Though  strongly  opposed  to  that  compulsory  method  of  pro- 
viding for  the  poor,  which  he  believed  to  be  calculated  to 
increase  the  evil  it  was  "  designed  to  cure,"  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
not  prepared  for  such  a  hasty  and  sweeping  act  of  legislation, 
and  therefore  readily  seconded  the  motion  that  the  General 
Assembly  should  petition  against  the  passing  of  the  bill ;  and 
when  the  great  opponent  of  poor-laws  took  such  a  course, 
there  was  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  unanimous  vote  in  favor 
of  the  petition. 

The  report  of  the  committee  upon  the  course  of  study  to  be 
required  of  students  of  theology,  brought  up  another  subject 
of  debate.  An  overture  insisting  upon  "  one  year's  regular 
attendance  at  the  Divinity  Hall  had  been  transmitted  by  the 
previous  Assembly,  to  the  different  Presbyteries  of  the 
church."  It  was  now  reported  that  only  six  Presbyteries  had 
sent  in  returns.  This  was  represented  as  due  to  the  little  in- 
terest felt  in  the  matter,  and  a  motion  was  made  that  it  should 
not  be  retransmitted.  Drs.  Cook,  Inglis,  NicoU,  and  Mearns 
were  in  favor  of  such  a  step  ;  but  Dr.  Chalmers,  conceiving 
that  the  overture  had  been  overlooked,  being  sent  down  mixed 
up  with  the  general  Acts  of  the  Assembly,  proposed  that  it 
should  be  retransmitted  in  a  separate  form.  A  stormy  debate 
ensued,  which  resulted  in  giving  a  majority  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventeen  to  seventy-four  in  favor  of  trans- 
mitting. 

A  fourth  subject  of  discussion,  also  involving  a  cause  of 
deep  interest  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  was  a  petition  praying  for  the 
erection  of  a  new  Gaelic  chapel  in  Glasgow.  It  was  opposed 
on  the  ground  that  those  already  existing  were  not  filled.  The 
leaders  of  the  ruling  party  in  the  Assembly,  Dr.  Inglis,  Dr. 
Mearns,  Dr.  Nicoll,  and  Dr.  Cook,  resisted  the  prayer  of  the 
Glasgow  petitioners.  "  It  had  not,  however,  been  in  vain  that 
Dr.  Chalmers,  in  his  eight  years'  labors,  had  exposed  the 
spiritual  necessity  of  thousands  of  the  population,  and  pleaded 
for  the  multiplication  of  spiritual  laborers  among  them.     His 


182  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1824. 

words  in  the  Assembly  were  few  but  weighty.  The  argument 
from  unlet  sittings  he  dealt  with,  when  urged  by  those  within 
the  Establishment,  in  the  very  way  in  which  he  dealt  with  it 
afterward,  when  urged  by  those  without.  The  broad  outstand- 
ing fact — the  true  and  firm  basis  of  the  petitioners'  plea — was, 
that  if  they  erected  the  new  chapel,  and  filled  it  to  overflow, 
there  would  still  be  a  great  overplus  of  Highland  population 
in  Glasgow  unprovided  for.  There  was  no  want  of  materials 
for  crowding  this  and  all  the  other  chapels.  To  wait  till  all 
the  existing  chapels  should  be  filled  ere  you  raised  another, 
were  to  take  the  surest  way  to  augment  indefinitely  the 
numbers  of  those  who  lived  wholly  neglectful  of  all  ordi- 
nances. To  send  another  zealous  laborer  among  that  neglected 
and  neglectful  population,  was  to  employ  one  of  the  most 
hopeful  expedients  for  lessening  the  evil  which  of  late  years 
had  been  growing  so  rapidly.  The  question,  grant  or  refuse 
the  petition,  was  at  last  put,  when  it  carried — grant,  by  a  ma- 
jority of  ninety-nine  to  seventy-one." 

On  the  first  of  June,  the  day  after  the  close  of  the  General 
Assembly,  Dr.  Chalmers,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Leonard 
Horner,  took  part  in  the  annual  meeting  of  the  School  of  Arts, 
then  in  its  infancy,  and  the  first  of  its  kind  in  that  country.  On 
this  occasion  he  had  the  pleasure  of  being  sustained  by  the  co- 
operation of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  the  only  time  in  which  these 
two  great  men  "met  on  the  same  platform  and  were  associated 
in  the  same  work  ;"  a  fact  due  to  the  diversity  of  their  pur- 
suits alone,  for  certainly  in  many  great  features  of  character, 
they  bore  such  a  resemblance  to  each  other,  as  must,  upon 
more  intimate  acquaintance,  have  constituted  the  basis  of  mu- 
tual esteem.  A  graceful  pen  has  lightly  touched  on  some  of 
these  : 

"  You  ask  me  to  tell  you  about  Dr.  Chalmers.  I  must 
tell  you  first,  then,  that  of  all  men  he  is  the  most  modest,  and 
speaks  with  undissembled  gentleness  and  liberality  of  those 
who  differ  from  him  in  opinion.  Every  word  he  says  has  the 
stamp  of  genius  ;  yet  the  calmness,  ease,  and  simplicity  of  his 
conversation  is  such,  that,  to  ordinary  minds,  he  might  appear 


^T.  44.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  183 

an  ordinary  man.  I  had  a  great  intellectual  feast  about  three 
weeks  since  —  I  breakfasted  with  him  at  a  friend's  house,  and 
enjoyed  his  society  for  two  hours  with  great  delight.  Conver- 
sation wandered  into  various  channels,  but  he  was  always  pow- 
erful, always  gentle,  and  always  seemed  quite  unconscious  of  his 
own  superiority.  I  had  not  been  an  hour  at  home  when  a 
guest  arrived,  who  had  become  a  stranger  to  me  for  some  time 
past.  It  was  Walter  Scott,  who  sat  a  long  time  with  me,  and 
was,  as  he  always  is,  delightful;  his  good-nature,  good-humor, 
and  simplicity  are  truly  charming:  you  never  once  think  of  his 
superiority,  because  it  is  evident  he  does  not  think  of  it  him- 
self. He,  too,  confirmed  the  maxim,  that  true  genius  is  ever 
modest  and  careless  ;  after  his  greatest  literary  triumphs  he  is 
like  Hardyknute's  son  after  a  victory,  when  we  are  told, 

'  "With  careless  gesture,  mind  unmoved. 
On  rode  he  o'wre  the  plain.' 

Mary  and  I  could  not  help  observing  certain  similarities  be- 
tween these  two  extraordinary  persons  (Chalmers  and  Scott)  :  { 
the  same  quiet,  unobtrusive  humor,  the  same  flow  of  rich  orig- 
inal conversation,  easy,  careless,  and  visibly  unpremeditated  ; 
the  same  indulgence  for  others,  and  readiness  to  give  atten- 
tion and  interest  to  any  subject  started  by  others.  There 
was  a  more  chastened  dignity  and  occasional  elevation  in 
the  Divine  than  in  the  Poet ;  but  many  resembling  features 
in  their   modes   of  thinking   and   manner   of  expression." 

After  about  a  fortnight's  rest  at  St.  Andrew's,  Dr.  Chalmers 
proceeded  to  Glasgow  to  watch  over  the  progress  of  the  new 
chapel  which  he  had  left  in  the  **  weakness  of  its  infancy." 
Having  announced  his  intention  to  preach  there  for  six  succes- 
sive Sabbaths,  and  hold  meetings  during  the  intervening  weeks, 
with  all  the  different  branches  of  the  parochial  agency,  he 
plunged  once  more  in  that  torrent  of  business  which  he  had 
formerly  set  in  motion  and  directed.  The  multitudes  who  as- 
sembled to  hear  him  on  the  Sabbath  were  restrained  by  police 

*  Memoir  and  Correspondence  of  Mrs.  Grant,  of  Laggan,  vol.  ii,  page 
167—169. 


184  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1824 

force,  and  none  admitted  except  those  who  were  provided 
with  tickets.  Beside  other  discourses,  he  dehvered  on  those 
Sabbaths  his  lectures  on  Romans,  from  chap,  viii,  3i,  to  the 
39th  verse  of  the  same  chapter  ;  as  well  as  on  the  22d  of  the 
eleventh,  and  17th  of  the  fourteenth  chapters.  Having  thus 
strengthened  the  hands  of  his  former  fellow-laborers,  and  ad- 
ded considerably  to  their  pecuniary  resources,  he  turned  his 
face  homeward,  taking  the  residence  of  Dr.  Nicoll,  at  Coster- 
ton,  in  his  way,  where,  in  company  with  some  other  academic 
friends,  Dr.  Hunter,  Mr.  Duncan,  and  Mr.  Gillespie,  he  spent 
a  day  of  pleasant  relaxation.  To  Prof.  Duncan  he  was  warmly 
attached,  and  in  all  their  amusements  we  find  these  two  friends 
preferring  one  another.  In  one  of  his  journal  letters  Dr.  Chal- 
mers thus  writes — "  Had  cordial  greetings  with  the  gentlemen 
in  the  library,  then  we  sallied  out  to  the  premises,  and  had  a 
very  delightful  forenoon  saunter  through  the  woods  and  lanes 
of  Costerton.  We  fixed  the  situation  of  a  future  moss  house, 
for  which  Dr.  Hunter,  I  hope,  w411  write  an  inscription  ;  and  I 
have  left  the  fragment  of  a  knife,  broken  by  Mr.  Duncan,  in  a 
spot  which  overhangs  a  bath  to  be  made  in  a  linn."  **  Before 
dinner  we  had  a  game  at  bowls  in  a  green  before  the  house.  I 
and  Mr.  Duncan  against  Dr.  Nicoil  and  Dr.  James  Hunter. 
We  had  the  best  of  three  games.  Mr.  Gillespie  afterward 
took  up  Mr.  Duncan  and  was  beat  by  him."  *'  Before  supper 
there  was  family  worship,  when  I  was  called  to  officiate.  We 
were  shown  to  our  beds  about  twelve.  I  got  the  large  bed- 
room in  which  Mr.  Duncan  was  the  night  before,  and  he  had 
a  closet,  with  a  small  sofa-bed  that  communicated  with  the 
room.  This  arrangement  was  vastly  agreeable  to  me;  and  we 
tumbled  into  our  respective  couches  between  twelve  and  one. 
I  like  him. 

''Friday. —  Got  up  about  eight.  Went  to  Mr.  Duncan's 
closet,  and  got  behind  him  in  his  sofa-bed,  where  I  had  a 
good  purchase  for  jamming  him  out,  and  did  so  accordingly. 
Had  cordial  talk  with  him.  Had  a  turn  before  breakfast, 
and  agreed  to  find  my  way  with  him  to  Edinburgh  by  the  help 
of  coaches   which  go  past   this  way.      Dr.  Nicoll,  however. 


^T.  44.  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  185 

traversed  this  arrangement,  he  having  so  ordered  it  as  to  go 
to  Edinburgh  in  his  own  carriage  —  to  take  Dr.  Hunter  and 
me  along  with  him,  and  offered  a  place  in  the  dickie  to  any 
other.  I  offered  to  take  the  dickie,  but  he  would  not  hear 
of  it  ;  and  as  Mr.  Duncan  professed  himself  liable  to  giddi- 
ness, Dr.  James  Hunter  sat  beside  the  driver,  and  in  this 
style  we  drove  to  Edinburgh.  I  had  to  explain  and  half 
apologize  to  Mr.  Duncan  for  having  deserted  him,  and  he  in- 
stantly saw  that  such  an  exclusive  preference  on  our  part  for 
one  another  might  hurt  the  feelings  of  our  elders,  and  that  it 
was  far  better  to  acquiesce  in  their  plan.  We  set  oflf  be- 
tween ten  and  eleven.  But  between  that  and  breakfast, 
Mr,  Gillespie,  who  is  somewhat  of  a  bluster,  challenged  me  to 
a  game  at  bowls,  when,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all,  I  beat 
him,  by  thirteen  to  eight.  On  our  way  to  Edinburgh,  got  in 
two  newspapers  at  Dr.  Nicoll's  post-ofl5ce,  which  we  read  in 
the  chaise. 

**Anstruther,  Sunday. —  Got  up  at  nine,  a  good  deal  re- 
cruited, yet  with  the  sensation  that  one  good  sleep  required 
another.  Had  family  worship  after  breakfast,  and  enjoyed 
my  walking  in  the  garden  on  the  Sabbath  morning.  It  re- 
called other  days.  The  evening  sermon  began  at  six.  The 
church  was  completely  full,  and  many  standers.  Some  had 
to  go  away.  I  preached  the  same  missionary  sermon  that  I 
had  revised  in  the  session-room,  and  which  I  have  preached 
in  Cupar,  Perth,  Edinburgh,  Lanark,  and  Anstruther.  It  has 
done  very  well  in  that  it  has  got  £300  for  the  cause.  I  was 
very  much  tired." 

The  managers  of  a  large  Sabbath  school  at  Stockport,  for  the 
purpose  of  liquidating  a  debt  resting  upon  their  building,  had 
established  an  anniversary  celebration,  at  which  many  eminent 
clergymen  officiated,  and  at  which,  for  the  purpose  of  increas- 
ing the  attraction,  select  and  varied  pieces  of  music  were  per- 
formed. In  ignorance  of  these  musical  accompaniments,  Dr. 
Chalmers  complied  with  their  request  that  he  should  preach 
the  anniversary  sermon.  The  appointment  was  for  Sabbath, 
16 


186  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1824. 

the  10th  of  October.  Upon  reaching  Stockport,  he  was  much 
annoyed  by  finding  himself  placarded,  in  regular  theatrical 
style,  as  a  prominent  actor  in  a  great  musical  and  literary 
exhibition  ;  and  managers  and  performers,  in  all  the  excite- 
ment of  preparation,  to  turn  the  Sabbath  into  a  day  of  enter- 
tainment and  festivity.  His  disapprobation  was  distinctly,  but 
without  violence,  expressed  to  the  parties  concerned.  He  had 
come,  he  said,  from  a  great  distance  on  their  account,  and  had 
thereby  purchased  the  privilege  of  telling  them  plain  things, 
that  they  should  have  consulted  him  ere  they  made  their  ar- 
rangements, that  what  they  had  done  stood  in  the  same  rela- 
tion to  what  they  should  have  done,  that  an  advertisement  of 
Dr.  Solomon's  did  to  the  respectable  doings  of  the  regular  fac- 
ulty. On  the  Sabbath  he  sent  for  the  principal  manager  with 
a  view  of  obtaining  some  alteration  in  the  exercises  ;  but  that 
personage  was  then  presiding  at  a  dinner  given  before  sermon 
to  the  "  gentlemen  of  the  orchestra,"  and  in  the  midst  of  a 
speech  to  them.  The  prayers  and  the  sermon  were  to  have 
been  mixed  up  with  the  music ;  but  Dr.  Chalmers  sent  word 
that  he  would  not  be  present  at  their  music  at  all ;  that  his 
service  should  be  separated  altogether  from  their  entertain- 
ment —  that  he  should  pray,  preach,  and  pray  again,  in  suc- 
cession —  not  entering  the  pulpit  till  the  moment  of  his 
beginning,  and  retiring  from  it  as  soon  as  he  should  have 
ended.  This  change  was  accordingly  made,  and  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  the  time  appointed  for  the  sermon,  he  made  his 
appearance.  ''Will  you  beheve  it  ?"  he  writes,  "  an  orchestra 
of  at  least  one  hundred  people,  three  rows  of  female  singers, 
in  which  two  professional  female  singers,  so  many  professional 
male  singers,  a  number  of  amateurs  :  and  I  now  offer  you  a 
list  of  the  instruments  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain 
them — one  pair  of  bass-drums,  two  trumpets,  bassoon,  organ, 
serpents,  violins  without  number,  violoncelloes,  bass-viols, 
flutes,  hautboys.  I  stopped  in  the  minister's  room  till  it  was 
over.  "Went  to  the  pulpit  —  prayed,  preached,  retired  during 
tlie  time  of  the  collection,  and  again  prayed.     Before  I  left 


^T.  44.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  187 

my  own  private  room  they  fell  to  again  with  most  tremendous 
fury,  and  the  likest  thing  to  it  which  I  recollect,  is  a  great 
military  band  on  the  castle-hill  of  Edinburgh." 

The  collection  taken  up  on  the  occasion  of  that  sermon  was 
£398,  and  on  Monday  it  was  augmented  to  £401. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

/  From  the  multifarious  labors  of  his  summer  vacation  Dr. 
Chalmers  returned  to  enter  upon  those  of  a  session  which  con- 
stituted "the  most  brilliant  epoch  of  his  academical  career  at 
St.  Andrew's."  With  more  leisure  for  careful  preparation 
than  he  had  previously  enjoyed,  the  encouragement  of  a  nume- 
rous and  attentive  auditory  was  largely  augmented.  More  than 
twice  the  number  of  students  that  ever  attended  the  instructions 
of  his  most  eminent  predecessors  crowded  his  lecture-room ; 
some  of  older  standing  returned  upon  their  course,  and  many 
gentlemen  attached  themselves  to  his  class  who  had  no  other 
connection  with  the  university.  *'The  superior  character  and 
capacity  of  the  students  told  upon  the  spirit  and  efforts  of  their 
professor.  It  was  throughout  one  busy  season  of  animating 
and  most  productive  labor.  His  course  of  lectures  on  ethics 
was  carried  a  stage  further  toward  that  condition  of  complete- 
ness, which  however  they  were  destined  never  to  attain."  In 
respect  to  that  course  it  may  be  remarked  that  it  departed 
from  the  boundaries  previously  set  to  the  department  in  St. 
Andrew's  and  other  Scotch  universities.  Under  the  head  of 
moral  philosophy  they  included  both  mental  and  moral  science, 
as  well  as  all  that  was  taught  of  political  economy.  Dr. 
Chalmers  rightly  conceiving  that  morals  are  more  intimately 
connected  with  religion  than  with  metaphysics,  ventured  to  set 
aside  the  whole  branch  of  mental  science  and  make  his  course 
one  truly  on  moral  philosophy,  terminating  in  the  doctrines  of 
revealed  religion  and  constituting  a  progressive  approach  to 
the  study  of  christian  theology.  It  was  divided  into  those 
''  moralities  which  reciprocate  between  man  and  man  on 
earth,"  and  those  "  which  connect  earth  with  heaven."  The 
most  valuable  of  his  lectures  were  those  belonging  to  the  lat- 
ter division,  treating  of  natural  theology.  They  were  after- 
(188) 


^T.    44.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  189 

ward  remodeled  and  introduced  into  his  course  of  theological 
instruction  in  Edinburgh  "  and  will  be  found  in  the  first  and 
second  volumes  of  his  published  works.  In  the  fifth  volume 
of  the  same  series,  the  reader  is  presented  with  as  many  of  the 
lectures  in  the  first,  or  strictly  ethical  division  of  his  course,  as 
their  author  thought  fit  to  publish. 

Dr.  Chalmers's  method  of  instruction  **  was  diftuse  and 
illustrative.  To  facilitate  the  remembrance  of  his  lectures,  to 
give  his  students  a  distinct  conception  of  the  ground  actually 
traversed,  and  to  prepare  them  for  that  examination  to  which 
they  were  afterward  to  be  subjected,  he  dictated  a  few  succinct 
sentences,  containing  the  leading  topics  of  each  lecture,  so  as 
to  furnish  his  students  with  a  condensed  syllabus  of  his  course. 
It  would  not  have  been  easy  for  them,  amid  the  excitements 
of  that  class,  to  have  followed  the  old  practice  of  the  Scottish 
universities  by  taking  notes  during  the  delivery  of  the  lecture. 
The  very  manner  of  that  delivery  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  have  kept  their  eye  fixed  upon  the  lecturer.  There  was, 
beside,  the  novelty  of  many  of  the  speculations,  as  well  as  of 
the  garb  in  which  they  were  presented  ;  while  the  interest  was 
at  once  deepened  and  diversified — at  times,  by  some  extempo- 
raneous addition  or  illustration,  in  which  the  lecturer  springing 
from  his  seat,  and  bending  over  the  desk,  through  thick  and 
difficult  and  stammering  utterance  in  which  every  avenue  to 
expression  seemed  to  be  choked  up,  found  his  way  to  some 
picturesque  conception  and  expressive  phraseology,  which 
shed  a  flood  of  light  on  the  topic  in  hand ;  and  again,  by  some 
poetic  quotation  recited  with  most  emphatic  fervor,  or  by  some 
humorous  allusion  or  anecdote  told  with  archest  glee.  It  was 
almost  impossible  in  such  a  singular  class  room  to  check  the  burst 
of  applause,  or  to  restrain  the  merriment.  The  professor  did  his 
best,  and  used  many  expedients  for  this  purpose."  But  not- 
withstanding all,  the  pedestrian  approbation  was  destined  to 
accompany  him  "  through  the  whole  of  his  academical 
career." 

To  regular  examination  of  his  students  upon  the  lectures 
ne  delivered,  Dr.  Chalmers  attached  so  much  importance  that 


190  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1824. 

he  was  in  the  habit  of  carefully  writing  out  beforehand  the 
principal  questions.  Yet  one  of  his  pupils  informs  us  that 
"the  examination  was  anything  but  formal.  It  was  enlivened 
by  questions  first  addressed  to  individuals,  and  then,  if  unan- 
swered, cast  abroad  on  the  whole  class.  Each  was  anxious  to 
distinguish  himself  by  his  rephes.  The  same  question  found 
divers  answers.  In  that  diversity  we  found  a  new  source  of 
interest,  and  new  lights  were  struck  out.  The  excitement,  the 
suspense  of  mind,  and  the  successive  approximations  of  one 
after  another  to  the  true  and  sufficient  answer,  created  scenes 
of  intellectual  animation  that  I  delight  to  recall.  In  the  midst 
of  these  not  seldom  the  professor  himself  broke  in  with  some 
extemporaneous  or  half  extemporaneous  exposition  on  the 
topics  that  had  come  up.  Nothing  could  be  more  genial  than 
these  gushes  of  fresh  thought  and  vivid  illustration.  We 
called  them  his  buds,  and,  like  other  buds,  they  were  all  the 
more  interesting  that  they  were  not  blown.  In  these  excur- 
sions he  often  expressed  himself  with  all  the  point,  condensa- 
tion, and  terseness  which  every  one  must  have  observed  in  his 
conversational,  as  contrasted  with  his  written,  style.  In  a  few 
emphatic  and  impassioned  sentences  he  set  before  us  the 
whole  philosophy  of  a  subject,  and  that  in  so  compact  and 
portable  a  form,  that  it  was  transferred  not  only  to  our  note- 
books, but  lodged  for  life  in  our  minds,  under  the  triple  guar- 
dianship of  the  understanding,  the  imagination  and  the  heart." 
Political  economy  was  too  much  of  a  favorite  with  Dr.  Chal- 
mers to  be  confined  by  him  to  the  limited  space  it  had  pre- 
viously occupied  in  the  Scottish  universities.  According  to  an 
announcement  made  at  the  close  of  his  first  session  at  St.  An- 
drew's, he  opened,  in  November,  1826,  a  separate  class  for  the 
study  of  that  subject.  This  he  did  not  teach  by  lecture,  but 
by  recitation,  choosing  **  Smith's  Wealth  of  Nations,"  as  his 
text-book,  and,  in  the  course  of  examination,  supplementing 
and  illustrating  the  views  therein  presented.  Of  this  method 
of  instruction  he  thus  expressed  himself  before  the  Royal  Com- 
missioners :  "  I  must  say  that  I  feel  great  comfort  in  it,  and  am 
sensible  of  its  great  efficacy.   I  find  that  coming  to  close  quarters 


^T.    45.  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  191 

with  the  juvenile  mind  upon  subjects  which  they  have  pre- 
viously read  upon,  is  a  very  effective  method  of  teaching  them, 
insomuch  that  were  I  furnished  with  an  unexceptionable 
set  of  text-books  on  moral  philosophy,  I  should  feel  strongly 
inclined  to  adopt  the  same  method  in  that  class  too." 

Original  investigation  was  also  required  of  the  students  un- 
der his  instruction.  A  topic  belonging  to  the  general  subject 
under  discussion  was  each  Friday  assigned  to  a  portion  of  the 
class,  who  read  respectively  their  essays  upon  it,  in  the  lec- 
ture-room, on  the  Friday  following.  These  productions  were 
brief,  not  occupying  more  than  eight  or  ten  minutes  in  the  de- 
livery, but  great  latitude  was  permitted  in  treatment  of  the 
subjects  assigned,  or  the  choice  of  kindred  ones.  For  the 
purpose  of  calling  forth  more  strenuous  effort,  the  subject  for 
a  prize  essay  was  announced  at  Christmas,  to  be  ready  in  the 
month  of  April.  A  new  element  in  the  philosophical  class- 
room, introduced  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  was  the  daily  prayer, 
whereby  the  work  of  the  hour  was  opened,  very  short,  but 
always  impressive,  and  sometimes  even  sublime. 

**  Classes  conducted  by  such  an  instructor,  in  which  the 
methods  now  indicated  were  so  vigorously  prosecuted,  could 
not  but  be  eff"ective.  When  he  accepted  the  appointment 
to  St.  Andrew's,  many  a  misgiving  had  been  expressed  as 
to  his  fitness  for  the  new  office,  and  many  a  sage  reflec- 
tion had  been  thrown  out  as  to  the  opposite  qualities  that 
were  required  for  the  pulpit  and  for  the  chair.  His  lectures 
soon  gave  evidence  that  he  could  be  profound  as  well  as 
popular  ;  and  as  to  his  mode  of  training  the  young,  if  the 
highest  end  of  all  good  teaching  be  to  awaken  intellectual  im- 
pulses, and  stimulate  to  intellectual  activity,  that  end  was 
gained  in  a  pre-eminent  degree.  An  indescribable  impulse 
was  excited  and  sustained  among  the  students.  There  was 
not  a  latent  spark  of  intellectual  enthusiasm  in  any  breast  that 
was  not  kindled  into  a  glowing  flame.  It  was  impossible  not 
to  follow  where  such  a  leader  led  the  way,  and  with  many,  as 
with  himself,  the  pursuit  became  a  passion.  There  was  but 
one  other  professor  in  the  Scottish  universities  who  had  been 


192  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1825. 

equally  successful,  though  in  a  very  different  way,  in  calling 
the  youthful  intellectual  energy  into  action,  and  he  was  now 
sinking  into  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf.  *  If  Professor  Jardine, 
of  Glasgow,'  says  one  who  was  a  student  under  both,  *  had  the 
art  above  most  men  of  *  breaking  the  shell,*  to  use  Lord  Jef- 
frey's phrase.  Dr.  Chalmers  excelled  in  tempting  those  whose 
shell  was  already  broken,  to  prove  their  wings — in  teaching 
them  how  to  fly,  and  whither  to  direct  their  flight.  Under 
Jardine  we  learned  that  we  had  an  intellectual  life  ;  at  St.  An- 
drew's we  were  provoked  to  use  it ;  and  in  the  joy  of  its  exer- 
cise, thoucrh  we  often  mistook  intellectual  ambition  for  intellect- 
ual  ability,  time  corrected  that  mistake,  and  meanwhile  what- 
ever was  in  us  was  drawn  out  of  us  by  the  intensive  and  en- 
thusiastic spirit  of  our  intellectual  chief." 

A  part  of  the  succeeding  vacation  was  again  occupied  with 
the  business  of  the  General  Assembly.  The  two  principal 
subjects  of  debate  were  moved,  the  one  by  Dr.  Thomson,  the 
other  by  Dr.  Chalmers.  The  former  was  a  case  of  presenta- 
tion to  a  Gaelic  parish  of  a  minister  wholly  unacquainted  with 
the  Gaelic  language.  The  Presbytery  had  refused  to  sustain 
the  presentation,  the  Synod  had  affirmed  that  decision,  and 
the  matter  was  now  brought  before  the  Assembly  for  final 
adjustment.  Dr.  Thomson  moved,  and  Dr.  Chalmers  seconded 
the  motion  to  instruct  the  Presbytery  *'  not  to  proceed  with 
such  a  settlement,  and  that  this  decision  should  be  respectfully 
communicated  to  the  officers  of  the  Crown,  in  order  that  ano- 
ther and  properly  qualified  individual  might  be  presented.  " 
After  a  debate  which  called  forth  one  of  the  most  powerful 
speeches  of  Dr.  Thomson,  the  motion  was  carried  by  a  major- 
ity of  107  to  89.  The  motion  presented  by  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
not  so  successful.  It  was  aimed  against  the  holding  of  college 
professorships  by  ministers  at  the  same  time  retaining  a  pasto- 
ral charge — an  evil  at  which  he  had,  on  other  occasions  aimed 
several  sturdy  blows.  Though  the  motion  was  lost,  the  debate 
contributed  to  keep  the  subject  before  the  public,  and  brought 
forward  some  more  cogent  arguments  for  reform.  The  most 
remarkable  passage  in  it,  was  one  touching  the  principal  dis- 


^T.  45.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  193 

putant  himself.  "  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day's 
debate,  a  speech  on  the  opposition  side  had  been  closed  by  a 
quotation  from  an  anonymous  pamphlet,  in  which  the  author 
asserted  that,  from  what  to  him  was  the  highest  of  all  author- 
ity, the  authority  of  his  own  experience,  he  could  assert  that, 
*  after  the  satisfactory  discharge  of  his  parish  duties,  a  minis- 
ter may  enjoy  five  days  in  the  week  of  uninterrupted  leisure 
for  the  prosecution  of  any  science  in  which  his  tastes  may  dis- 
pose him  to  engage. '  As  this  passage  was  emphatically  read, 
no  doubtful  hint  being  given  as  to  its  authorship,  all  eyes  were 
turned  toward  Dr.  Chalmers.  The  interposition  of  another 
speech  afforded  him  an  opportunity  for  reflecting  on  the  best 
manner  of  meeting  this  personal  attack.  At  the  close  of  the 
debate,  and  amid  breathless  silence,  he  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  Sir,  that  pamphlet  I  now  declare  to  have  been  a  produc- 
tion of  my  own,  published  twenty  years  ago.  I  was  indeed 
much  surprised  to  hear  it  brought  forward  and  quoted  this 
evening  ;  and  I  instantly  conceived  that  the  reverend  gen- 
tleman who  did  so,  had  been  working  at  the  trade  of  a  resur- 
rectionist. Verily  I  believed  that  my  unfortunate  pamphlet 
had  long  ere  now  descended  into  the  tomb  of  merited  oblivion, 
and  that  there  it  was  mouldering  in  silence,  forgotten  and  dis- 
regarded. But  since  that  gentleman  has  brought  it  forward  in 
the  face  of  this  house,  I  can  assure  him  that  I  feel  grateful  to 
him  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  for  the  opportunity  he  has 
now  afforded  me  of  making  a  public  recantation  of  the  senti- 
ments it  contains.  I  have  read  a  tract  entitled  the  '  Last  Mo- 
ments of  the  Earl  of  Rochester,'  and  I  was  powerfully  struck 
in  reading  it,  with  the  conviction  how  much  evil  a  pernicious 
pamphlet  may  be  the  means  of  disseminating.  At  the  time 
when  I  wrote  it,  I  did  not  conceive  that  my  pamphlet  would  do 
much  evil  ;  but,  sir,  considering  the  conclusions  that  have  been 
deduced  from  it  by  the  reverend  gentleman,  I  do  feel  obliged 
to  him  for  reviving  it,  and  for  bringing  me  forward  to  make  my 
public  renunciation  of  what  is  there  written.  I  now  confess 
myself  to  have  been  guilty  of  a  heinous  crime,  and  I  now  stand 
a  repentant  culprit  before  the  bar  of  this  venerable  Assembly. 
17 


194:  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEKS>  1825. 

"  The  circumstances  attending  the  pubhcation  of  my  pam- 
phlet were  shortly  as  follows  :  As  far  back  as  twenty  years 
ago,  I  was  ambitious  enough  to  aspire  to  be  successor  to  Pro- 
fessor Playfair  in  the  mathematical  chair  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  During  the  discussion  which  took  place  relative 
to  the  person  who  might  be  appointed  his  successor,  there  ap- 
peared a  letter  from  Professor  Playfair  to  the  magistrates  of 
Edinburgh  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  stated  it  as  his  convic- 
tion, that  no  person  could  be  found  competent  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  the  mathematical  chair  among  the  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  I  was  at  that  time,  sir,  more  devoted  to 
mathematics  than  to  the  literature  of  my  profession  ;  and  feel- 
ing grieved  and  indignant  at  what  I  conceived  an  undue  re- 
flection on  the  abilities  and  education  of  our  clergy,  I  came 
forward  with  that  pamphlet  to  rescue  them  from  what  I  deemed 
an  unmerited  reproach,  by  maintaining  that  a  devoted  and  ex- 
clusive attention  to  the  study  of  mathematics  was  not  disso- 
nant to  the  proper  habits  of  a  clergyman.  Alas  !  sir,  so  I 
thought  in  my  ignorance  and  pride.  I  have  now  no  reserve 
in  saying  that  the  sentiment  was  wrong,  and  that,  in  the  utter- 
ance of  it,  I  penned  what  was  most  outrageously  wrong. 
Strangely  blinded  that  I  was  !  What,  sir,  is  the  object  of  math- 
ematical science  ?  Magnitude  and  the  proportions  of  magni- 
tude. But  then,  sir,  I  had  forgotten  two  magnitudes — I  thought 
not  of  the  littleness  of  time — I  recklessly  thought  not  of  the 
greatness  of  eternity  !  " 

"  For  a  moment  or  two  after  the  last  words  were  spoken  a 
deathlike  stillness  reigned  throughout  the  house.  The  power 
and  pathos  of  the  scene  were  overwhelming,  and  we  shall 
search  long  in  the  lives  of  the  most  illustrious  ere  we  find  an- 
other instance  in  which  the  sentiment,  the  act,  the  utterance, 
each  rose  to  the  same  level  of  sublimity,  and  stood  so  equally 
embodied  in  the  one  impressive  spectacle." 

During  the  remainder  of  this  vacation,  his  time  was  more  at 
his  own  disposal  than  it  had  been  for  many  years,  and  the 
record  of  his  spiritual  condition  is  accordingly  more  full.  Our 
limits  admit  only  a  few  extracts. 


MT.  45.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  19t5 

'*  Sunday,  June  26th,  1825. — After  the  interval  of  more 
than  a  twelvemonth  have  again  recurred  to  my  journal.  Have 
not  made  progress  during  this  interval,  and  find  that  I  must 
just  recur,  as  at  the  first,  to  the  blood  of  Christ  as  my  atone- 
ment— to  the  righteousness  of  Christ  as  my  plea ;  but,  oh  ! 
that  under  these  principles  I  experienced  more  of  the  spirit  of 
Christ  in  my  heart,  and  anything  like  the  satisfactory  evidence 
of  my  having  become  a  new  creature." 

"  2Qth. — Had  less  of  light  and  life  in  my  devotional  exercises 
this  morning.  Waited  for  some  time,  but  without  success. 
Surely  in  the  absence  of  conception  there  may  be  faith  and 
principle,  and  let  me  follow  up  a  morning  of  darkness  with  a 
day  of  close  and  conscientious  observation.  Keep  alive  in  me, 
0  God,  the  love  of  thyself,  and  the  love  of  my  neighbor,  and 
all  will  be  right.  Have  gleams  of  sunshine  in  the  reading  of 
*  Romaine,'  and  find  that  I  can  get  better  on  through  the  me- 
dium of  tangible  remarks  and  doctrines  ;  and  in  what  other 
way  indeed  but  by  the  presentation  of  truth  can  good  feelings 
be  awakened  ?  Oh,  that  I  could  appropriate  Christ  more  sim- 
ply, and  then  should  I  experience  him  to  be  the  power  of  God 
for  both  a  present  and  a  future  salvation  !" 

"  July  16th. — Still  the  same  glow  of  delight  with  *  Romaine,* 
but  the  same  dissipation  thereof  and  of  all  seriousness  among 
the  occupations  of  study  and  of  society.  What  an  argument 
for  the  Sabbath,  for  a  day  set  apart  to  God's  peculiar  work, 
seeing  that  throughout  the  vast  majority  of  the  six  days  on 
which  we  do  our  work,  we  forget  Him  altogether.  But  should 
it  be  so  ?  Should  not  this  tendency  be  prayed  against  till  it 
is  prevailed  over  ?  Should  not  life  be  a  perpetual  Sabbath  ? 
Is  there  no  way  of  impregnating  all  work  with  godliness  ?  and 
is  not  the  Lord's  work  that  in  which  we  should  always  be 
abounding  ? — O  God,  teach  me  this  way  and  this  work." 

"  Sunday,  \lth. — This  on  the  whole  a  prosperous  day.  Felt 
the  charm  of  Sabbath,  although  perhaps  too  much  taken  up 
with  Sabbath  business  to  the  exclusion  of  meditation  and  prayer. 
Read  the  sermon  on  the  death  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Philip  Henry. 
Went  to  bed  at  eleven.     I  need  more  of  unction  in  my  Sab- 


196  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1825. 

bath  school,  and  a  more  thorough  earnestness  about  the  conver- 
sion of  souls.  Had  some  delicious  and  animating  retirement 
in  the  evening  when  I  thought  I  could  descry  what  is  meant 
by  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. — Let  my  re- 
gards be  more  cast  henceforth  on  the  things  to  be  believed, 
and  less  on  the  act  or  manner  of  believing." 

"August,  19tk. — A  quiet  day  at  home.  I  feel  heaviness, 
and  there  mingles  with  it  a  certain  sense  and  feeling  of  decay, 
as  if  my  imagination  was  less  vivid,  a  haze  overspreading  all 
the  objects  of  my  contemplation,  and  far  less  both  of  interest, 
and  I  fear  of  power,  whether  in  the  walks  of  pathos  or  fancy, 
or  even  intellect.  A  fine  topic  this  for  religious  exercise.  Let 
me  cultivate  a  closer  fellowship  with  God,  and  be  weaned  frora^ 
my  own  glory.  0  Heavenly  Father  !  fill  me  with  the  desire 
of  living  altogether  to  thine  :  extinguish  vanity,  and  the  sinful 
lust  of  human  applause." 

The  cold  formalism  of  St.  Andrew's  was  not  without  its  ef- 
fect upon  his  religious  feelings.  We  find  several  such  lament- 
ations as  these  :  "  In  a  state  of  depression  all  day,  arising 
partly  from  fatigue,  and  partly  from  the  feeling  of  that  uncon- 
genial atmosphere  by  which  I  am  surrounded."  "Visited 
with  melancholy  thoughts  when  I  dwell  on  the  uncongeniality 
of  my  present  neighborhood."  And  sometimes,  under  the 
weight  of  despondency,  he  conceived  his  talents  sinking  into 
decay,  and  his  influence  in  the  world  diminishing.  His  plain 
dealing  with  himself  is  illustrated  in  an  entry  under  the  date 
of  October  1st :  "  1  am  destitute  of  that  spirit  which  prompted 
Christ  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  is  lost,  of  his  compas- 
sionate zeal  for  the  souls  of  men,  of  the  patience  wherewith  he 
endured  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against  himself,  and  alto- 
gether of  love  either  to  God  or  men.  Old  things  are  not 
wholly  passed  away :  the  love  of  literature  for  itself,  and  the 
love  of  literary  distinction,  have  not  passed  away.  Let  me 
love  literature  as  one  of  those  creatures  of  God  which  is  not  to 
be  refused,  but  received  with  thankso-ivingr.  Let  me  desire  lit- 
erary  distinction — but  let  my  desire  for  it  be  altogether  that  I 
may  add  to  my  christian  usefulness,  and  promote  the  glory  of 


^T.    46.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  197 

God — then,  even  with  these,  I  would  be  a  new  creature.  The 
impression  of  my  defects  is  not  such  as  to  overwhelm  me,  but 
to  stimulate.  Objective  Christianity  mixed  its  influence  with 
the  examination.  The  defects  of  my  subjective  should  just 
lead  me  to  cling  faster  to  the  objective  ;  and  I  did  feel  a  peace 
when  I  tried  myself  by  the  verse,  that  to  them  who  believe  He 
is  precious.  I  was  moved  even  to  tears  by  a  sense  of  my  de- 
ficiencies ;  and,  0  God,  let  my  peace  be  that  of  faith,  and  not 
of  carnality.  Let  it  be  my  incessant  endeavor  to  heighten  the 
characters  of  grace  within,  and  then  self-examination  will  be- 
come easier  and  more  encouraging.  Let  me  observe  the  tem- 
perance of  this  day,  and  that  will  make  me  more  vigorous  and 
unclouded  in  all  my  mental  exercises." 

The  latter  part  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  residence  at  St.  Andrew's 
was  clouded  by  the  rise  of  several  grounds  of  difference  be- 
tween himself  and  his  colleagues. 

By  ancient  law  and  usage  the  students  of  the  United  Col- 
lege were  obliged  to  attend  the  Sabbath  services  in  the  old 
university-church  of  St.  Leonard's.  Notwithstanding  an  ear- 
nest remonstrance  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  a  college  pro- 
fessor, whose  hands  were  already  full  of  his  proper  work, 
and  who  was  otherwise  unacceptable,  had  recently  been  ap- 
pointed pastor  of  that  church.  The  students  were  greatly  dis- 
satisfied, especially  that  part  of  them  who  esteemed  the  service 
of  the  Sabbath  most  highly,  and  presented  a  petition  to  the  Sen- 
atus  praying  to  be  released  from  attendance  there.  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, although  he  thought  some  relief  should  be  granted  those 
whose  religious  feelings  were  thwarted  by  the  existing  law,  did 
not  consider  it  proper  "  to  yield  to  the  mere  choice  of  youths, 
many  of  them  of  immature  age  ;"  but  when  the  Senatus  also 
rejected  the  expressed  desire  of  their  parents,  he  warmly  es- 
poused their  cause,  "  both  acts  being  alike  revolting  to  him — 
that  by  which  the  Chancellor  forced  a  minister  upon  the 
college,  and  that  by  which  the  college  forced  an  attendance 
upon  the  minister."  It  was  painful  for  him  to  take  such  a  po- 
sition, as  he  stood  alone  in  doing  so,  and  one  of  his  fellow- 


198  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS. 


1826. 


professors  was  the  very  person  in  reference  to  whom  the  petition 
was  drawn  up  ;  notwithstanding  he  firmly  defended  the  right 
of  parents  to  direct  the  rehgious  education  of  their  children. 
His  conduct  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  permitting  some  of  his 
family  to  attend  a  dissenting  place  of  worship,  gave  great 
offense  to  the  formal  and  establishment-loving  community  of 
St.  Andrew's. 

The  second  difficulty  rose  out  of  the  administration  of  the 
college  funds,  a  certain  part  of  which  it  had  long  been  custom- 
ary for  the  professors  to  divide  among  themselves.  When  Dr. 
Chalmers  came  to  take  part  in  this  transaction,  he  was  natu- 
rally led  to  inquire  into  the  legal  authority  for  it,  and  finding 
good  reason  to  believe  that  it  possessed  none,  brought  his  ob- 
jections before  the  Senatus  Academicus.  That  body  did  not 
share  in  his  scruples,  and  some  of  its  members  resented  them 
as  implying  a  charge  of  malversation.  He  declined  receiving 
the  portion  assigned  to  him  until  he  should  see  clearly  his  legal 
right  to  it. 

In  1826,  a  commission  was  appointed  to  visit  and  report 
upon  the  colleges  in  Scotland.  To  their  arbitration  he  sub- 
mitted as  a  competent  authority,  and  in  May,  1829,  received 
from  them  a  decision  authorizing  him  to  receive  the  sums 
which  had  been  allotted  to  him  by  the  resolutions  of  the  profes- 
sors. These  had  now  accumulated  to  the  amount  of  jG700. 
He  thought  no  more  of  the  matter  until  the  publication  of  the 
Report  of  the  Commissioners,  in  1831,  in  which,  without  any 
mention  of  the  part  he  had  taken,  it  was  stated  as  their  con- 
clusion that  "the  Principal  and  Professors  appear  to  have 
made  these  appropriations  without  any  authority."  "Dr.  Chal- 
mers was  utterly  at  a  loss  to  reconcile  this  with  the  resolution 
under  which  he  had  been  induced  to  accept  of  the  dividends." 
He  was  placed  in  a  most  embarrassing  position  before  the 
world,  and  resolved  on  a  public  vindication  of  himself.  A  few 
sentences  from  his  letter  to  the  Commissioners  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  power  with  which  that  defensive  attack  was  made. 
After  stating  the  facts  of  the  case,  he  adds  :  "  When  receiving 


iET.    46.  LIFE    OF    DE.    CHALMERS.  199 

that  money  under  your  sanction,  I  did  not  understand  that  I 
had  given  up  to  you,  in  exchange  for  it,  the  power  of  aspersing 
my  character  and  good  name. 

"  I  trust  that  I  have  made  my  own  conduct  perfectly  dis- 
tinct. The  enigma  of  yours  is  now  darker  and  more  inscruta- 
ble than  ever. 

"  I  cannot  divine  what  you  think  of  these  Candlemas  ap- 
propriations. If  you  think  them  wrong,  how  is  it  that  to  me 
you  have  called  evil  good  ?  If  you  think  them  right,  how  is 
it  that  to  your  Sovereign  you  have  called  the  good  evil  ?" 

"  After  your  act  of  May,  1829,  I  never  once  dreamed  of  any 
other  sentence  from  your  lips  than  that  of  a  full,  and  open,  and 
unqualified  justification  of  the  professors-  of  St.  Andrew's. 
Such  a  pronounced  opinion  upon  them  was  the  only  consistent 
and  honorable  way  in  which  you  could  follow  up  the  permission 
you  had  given  to  myself;  and,  for  their  sakes,  I  honestly  re- 
joiced in  it.  I  never  liked  the  practice  they  had  fallen  into 
of  helping  themselves,  and  was  annoyed  beyond  measure  by 
the  obstructions  which  they  threw  in  the  way  of  my  bringing 
the  matter  distinctly  before  you  ;  but,  after  all,  I  could  not  but 
view  the  errors  into  which  the}'-  had  almost  insensibly  been  led 
as  being  very  much  the  errors  of  their  position  ;  and  taking 
into  account  the  exceeding  smallness  of  their  incomes,  I,  from 
the  moment  that  your  Act  of  1829  was  put  into  my  hand,  con- 
fidently looked  for  your  declaration  of  entire  acquittal  and  sat- 
isfaction with  their  conduct.  But  it  appears  that  you  have  de- 
vised for  them  another  species  of  consolation.  Instead  of  tell- 
ing the  world  that  they  were  right,  you  have  provided  them 
with  the  comfort  and  the  countenance  of  a  larger  companion- 
ship in  wrong,  and  to  enhance  the  favor,  it  is  wrong  which 
yourselves  have  created.  You  have  not  taken  off  the  burden 
from  their  shoulders,  but  you  have  kindly  introduced  among 
them  another  offender  of  your  own  making,  who,  by  sharing 
it  along  with  them,  might  help  to  ease  them  of  its  pressure. 
After  having  vainly  tried,  among  the  relics  of  former  visita- 
tions, to  find  for  them  a  precedent,  you  have  done  what  was 
next  best — you  have  fastened  upon  me  as  the  object  of  your 


LIFE    OF    DR.    CIIALMEES.  1826. 

seductions,  and  endeavored,  by  the  conduct  into  which  your- 
selves have  misled  me,  to  find  for  them  an  imitation.  I  can 
observe,  gentlemen,  that  your  taste  is  for  uniformity,  and  that 
any  discrepancy  or  contrast  between  me  and  my  colleagues  was 
an  obnoxious  spectacle  in  your  eyes.  To  rid  you  of  this,  a 
work  of  assimilation  had  to  be  performed,  that  you  might  have 
the  comfort  of  one  simple  and  harmonious  decision  upon  us  all. 
British  honor  will  know  how  to  view  such  a  proceeding.  A 
British  king  and  British  parliament  will  know  how  to  appre- 
ciate the  moral  judgments  of  men,  who,  instead  of  construct- 
ing their  representation  on  the  materials  which  they  found,  first 
adjusted  the  materials  to  suit  their  representation — w4io  became 
the  tempters  first,  and  the  accusers  afterward — who,  ere  they 
would  tell  the  fault,  took  aside  the  only  professor  who  was  free 
from  it,  and  suggested,  nay,  authorized,  the  very  deed  which 
numbers  him  amona*  the  defaulters — who,  such  their  love  to 
virtue  that  nothing  less  than  a  monopoly  of  the  article  would 
serve  them,  cleared  the  field  of  its  last  remnant,  that  they  might 
become  the  only  examples  and  only  expounders  of  it  them- 
selves." 

But  the  cause  which  probably  excited  the  greatest  opposition 
to  him  in  St.  Andrew's,  was  his  zealous  endeavors  to  create 
around  him  a  more  profound  religious  feeling.  He  opened  a 
Sabbath  school  in  his  own  house,  to  which  he  admitted  the 
members  of  the  Moral  Philosophy  class  who  chose  to  attend. 
This  beginning  with  five,  continued  to  increase  until  his  room 
was  completely  crammed.  He  had  also  a  Sabbath  class  formed 
of  the  children  of  the  poor  in  his  neighborhood,  and  his  old 
habits  of  visiting  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  religious 
instruction  privately,  were  not  laid  aside.  He  marked  out  for 
1  himself  a  district  among  the  destitute  of  the  city  of  St.  An- 
y  drews,  to  be  regularly  attended  to  as  a  pastoral  care.  In  con- 
ducting his  juvenile  Sabbath  school,  he  associated  with  himself 
Mr.  John  Urquhart,  a  young  man  of  eminent  piety  and  talents 
for  instruction,  and  in  the  course  of  a  short  time  other  students 
of  the  university,  fired  by  the  zeal  and  counsel,  and  guided  by 
the  example  of  their  professor,  had  established  other  Sabbath 


^T.  46.  LIFU   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  201 

schools  in  different  parts  of  the  city.  ''  Their  common  engage- 
ment in  these  evening  schools  led  the  students  to  hold  Sabbath 
morning  meetings  for  prayer  and  counsel  —  meetings  at  Avhich 
the  hallowed  fire  which  glowed  in  every  breast  grew  warmer 
at  the  touch  of  a  congenial  flame.  Nor  was  this  all.  The  visi- 
tation of  their  districts  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  out  the 
young  to  school,  had  revealed  a  great  and  unexpected  amount 
of  religious  indifference  and  neglect  among  the  adult  popula- 
tion, a  discovery  which,  when  made  by  ardent  youths,  panting 
to  do  good,  was  not  long  of  being  followed  up  by  active  efforts 
to  relieve  the  destitution.  The  zeal,  indeed,  which  embarked 
in  these  efforts,  did  not  confine  itself  to  St.  Andrew's,  but  flowed 
out  upon  adjoining  districts.  *  There  is  a  new  system,'  says 
Mr.  Urquhart,  *  of  religious  instruction  which  has  been  at- 
tempted in  St.  Andrew's  this  last  session,  and  which,  I  think, 
is  a  most  efficient  system  for  evangelizing  large  towns.  The 
plan  is  very  simple.  We  first  inquired  after  some  persons  re- 
siding in  different  quarters  of  the  town  who  were  religiously 
disposed.  We  called  on  these  and  requested  the  favor  of  a 
room  in  their  house  for  a  few  of  the  neighbors  to  assemble  in 
for  religious  purposes.  We  expected  a  little  group  of  eight  or 
ten  persons  to  assemble,  but  were  astonished  to  find  the  at- 
tendance increase  in  some  of  the  stations  to  fifty  or  sixty.  Many 
of  these  never  went  to  church.  We  generally  read  and  ex- 
plained a  passage  of  Scripture,  and  read  some  extracts  from 
such  books  as  we  thought  were  most  striking  and  useful.  You 
understand  we  never  called  it  preaching  :  and  accordingly  Dr. 
Haldane  gave  his  consent  that  the  young  men  in  the  Estab- 
lished Church  should  engage  in  the  work.  Churchmen  and 
dissenters  all  went  hand  in  hand,  and  we  forgot  that  there  was 
any  distinction  ;  and  this  must  be  the  case  more  universally 
ere  the  cause  of  our  great  Redeemer  go  triumphantly  forward. 
I  do  think  this  a  most  plausible  method  of  getting  at  that  class 
of  the  community  who  do  not  attend  the  public  services  of  the 
gospel.  I  may  mention  that  we  have  a  Mr.  H.  here,  a  Baptist 
minister  from  London,  of  whom,  perhaps,  you  may  have  heard. 
He  has  come  to  attend  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  has  been  very  useful 


LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS ,  1526. 

here.  He  and  my  friend  Mr.  A.,  have  established  several 
preaching  stations  in  the  country  round  where  the  people  seem 
eager  to  hear  the  gospel." 

As  president  of  a  missionary  society,  composed  of  Christians 
of  different  denominations,  Dr.  Chalmers  also  accomplished  a 
labor  of  extensive  usefulness.  Holding  monthly  meetings  for 
the  communication  of  missionary  intelligence,  he  took  the  duty 
of  collecting  and  presenting  that  information  upon  himself. 
The  interest  attaching  to  these  meetings  drew  such  crowds  that 
he  at  last  had  to  obtain  the  Town  Hall  for  their  accommoda- 
tion ;  and  the  interest  so  awakened  contributed  to  encouraofe 
and  sustain  a  similar  society  among  the  students,  which  pro- 
duced fruits  of  no  common  value.  From  that  society,  formed 
in  the  midst  of  a  worldly-minded  community,  and  at  first  rely- 
ing for  support  chiefly  upon  the  known  disposition  of  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, went  forth  Mr.  Nesbit  to  Bombay,  "  the  oldest  Scottish 
missionary  on  the  field  of  India,"  Mr.  Adams  to  the  valley  of 
the  Ganges,  and  that  most  laborious  and  successful  of  all  mis- 
sionaries, Dr.  Alexander  Dufi",  to  Calcutta,  whither  he  was 
soon  followed  by  others  from  the  same  circle  of  influence.  At 
its  first  formation  that  students'  society  was  peremptorily  re- 
fused the  use  of  any  room  in  the  university,  and  by  some  of 
the  professors  was  regarded  as  thoroughly  unacademical .  With 
difficulty  could  a  place  of  meeting  be  obtained  in  town  ;  but 
after  the  labors  of  Dr.  Chalmers  had  progressed  for  some  time, 
so  greatly  was  the  feeling  changed,  that  some  of  the  professors 
became  openly  favorable  to  it,  while  the  rest  relinquished  all 
actual  opposition.  In  the  language  of  Dr.  Duff,  one  of  the 
young  men  by  whose  efforts  it  was  founded,  *'  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  extent  of  imvard  spiritual  renovation,  no  one  could 
question  the  extent  of  outward  visible  amelioration  in  the  reli- 
gious aspect  of  things.  Religion,  which  had  long  settled  down 
at  zero,  or  many  degrees  below  it,  was  sensibly  raised  in  its 
temperature,  and,  in  some  instances,  kindled  into  an  inextin- 
guishable flame.  The  long  repose  of  stagnation  and  death,  with 
its  teeming  brood  of  corruptions,  was  effectually  disturbed;  and 
out  of  the  strife  and  conflict  of  hostile  elements  a  new  progeny, 


^T.  46.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  203 

fraught  with  life  and  purity,  began  to  emerge  ;  and  in  the  mis- 
sionary libraries  and  assemblies,  the  prayer-meetings,  the  Sab- 
bath schools,  and  preaching  stations  in  town  and  country,  an 
extensive  machinery  was  erected  for  the  diffusion  of  life-giving 
influences  all  around.  And  all  this  suddenly  springing  into 
existence  from  the  presence  of  one  man  !" 

During  the  winter  1825-6,  Dr.  Chalmers  completed  the  third 
volume  of  his  "Christian  and  Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns," 
and  in  the  succeeding  vacation  again  took  his  seat  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  where  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his 
measure,  regarding  theological  education,  carried  ;  but  was 
doomed  to  another  defeat  on  the  subject  of  pluralities,  on 
which  the  Assembly  declined  all  further  discussion  until  the 
Royal  Commissioners,  to  visit  the  Scottish  Colleges,  should  issue 
their  report.  That  report,  when  it  did  appear,  in  1831,  was 
entirely  favorable  to  Dr.  Chalmers's  views.  In  the  course  of 
the  summer  he  delivered  "  a  lecture  before  the  School  of  Arts 
at  Haddington,  preached  four  successive  Sabbaths  in  Glasgow, 
and  spent  a  week  or  two  with  a  sister  who  had  lately  married 
the  Rev.  Mr.  McLellan,  minister  of  Kelton  in  Kircudbright- 
shire."  In  the  latter  excursion  he  accomplished  two  other  ob- 
jects very  gratifying  to  his  feelings,  a  visit  to  the  old  parish 
church  of  Anwoth,  consecrated  by  the  memory  of  Samuel 
Rutherford,  and  to  the  birthplace,  as  well  as  the  grave,  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown.  He  also  saw  with  warm  interest  many  of  the 
scenes  associated  with  the  genius  of  Robert  Burns. 

Next  winter  was  marked  to  him  by  the  death  of  his  sister 
Isabel,  on  the  4th  of  December,  and  of  his  mother  on  the  14th 
of  February  following,  both  "  full  of  the  hope  of  eternal  glory,  / 
believing  in,  and  trusting  to,  the  righteousness  of  Jesus  Christ.'* 
Of  his  mother's  latter  days  he  afterward  remarked  that  "  Hers 
at  length  was  a  perpetual  feast  of  pleasing  thoughts  and  pleas- 
ing emotions,  and  the  serenity  within  was  pictured  forth  on  her 
whole  aspect.  She  resisted  our  attempts  to  bring  her  forth  of 
her  sohtude,  preferring  to  reside  in  Anster  by  herself,  to  being 
with  us,  even  after  all  her  family  had  left  her  ;  and  such  was 
the  sufficiency  of  her  internal  resources,  that  never  was  there 


204  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1827, 

spent  a  solitude  of  greater  independence  and  greater  enjoy- 
ment, divided  as  it  was,  between  little  schemes  of  usefulness  to 
the  poor  families  around  her,  and  those  secret  exercises  of 
reading,  and  meditation,  and  prayer  which  have  so  ripened 
her  for  heaven.  My  impression  of  her  in  early  life  was,  that 
she  was  more  remarkable  for  the  cardinal  than  the  softer  vir- 
tues of  our  nature.  But  age,  and  the  power  of  Christianity 
together,  had  mellowed  her  whole  character  ;  the  mildness 
of  charity,  and  the  peace  which  the  world  knoweth  not, 
threw  a  most  beautiful  and  quiet  light  over  the  evening  of  her 
days." 

On  the  26tli  of  February,  1827,  Dr.  Chalmers  received  an 
offer  of  the  Professorship  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  London 
University ,^Avhich,  however,  especially,  it  would  seem  on  ac- 
count of  its  exclusion  of  theological  instruction,  he  finally  conclu- 
ded not  to  accept.  "In  the  meanwhile,  having  an  urgent  appli- 
cation from  the  Rev.  Edward  Irving,  to  open  the  new  church 
then  being  erected  for  him  in  London,"  as  soon  as  the  session 
closed,  he  hastened  up  to  the  metropolis,  where  he  had  repeated 
conferences  with  several  of  the  patrons  of  the  new  university. 

On  this  occasion  he  spent  some  time  in  the  company  of  Cole- 
ridge, of  whom  he  remarked,  as  did  every  one  who  knew  that 
eminent  man  in  his  later  days,  that  **his  conversation,  which 
flowed  in  a  mighty  stream,  was  most  astonishing,"  while  he 
confessed,  that  to  him  a  great  part  of  it  was  unintelhgible. 
The  reply  of  Mr.  Irving  to  this  objection  was  highly  character- 
istic. "Ha!  you  Scotchmen  would  handle  an  idea  as  a  butcher 
handles  an  ox.  For  my  part,  I  love  to  see  an  idea  looming 
through  the  mist." 

Returning  to  Edinburgh  in  time  to  take  part  in  some 
of  the  business  of  the  General  Assembly,  Dr.  Chalmers 
delivered  one  of  his  ablest  speeches  in  defense  of  Mr. 
McLeod,  of  Bracadale,  who  for  refusing  to  perform  the  or- 
dinance of  baptism,  in  a  number  of  cases,  owing  to  some  con- 
scientious scruples,  had  been  suspended  from  the  office  of  the 
ministry  by  the  vote  of  his  Presbytery.  Appeal  had  been 
made  to  the  Assembly,  where  now,  through  the  efforts  chiefly 


^T.    47.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CFIALMERS.  205 

of  Dr.  Chalmers,  the  case  was  brought  to  an  agreeable  termi- 
nation. 

In  midsummer  of  that  year  the  Royal  Commissioners  visited 
St.  Andrews,  to  investigate  the  state  of  the  university.  Their 
queries  suggested  to  Dr.  Chalmers  a  great  many  other  topics 
of  interest  in  relation  to  educational  matters  :  and  after  answer- 
ing before  that  body  all  their  questions  as  fully  as  proper,  he 
pursued  the  subject  further  in  a  treatise  "On  the  Use  and  Abuse 
of  Literary  and  Ecclesiastical  Endowments,"  which  was  com- 
pleted with  the  close  of  the  year.  This  work,  the  Quarterly 
Review  pronounced  ''  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  eloquent 
defenses  of  such  endowments  that  ever  proceeded  from  the 
press — a  treatise  which  would  alone  have  been  sufficient  to  im- 
mortalize its  author;"  yet  nowhere  more  distinctly  than  in  that 
treatise  did  he  denounce  the  evils  resulting  from  maladminis- 
tration of  their  patronage. 

"  Certain  it  is,  that,  by  a  corrupt  and  careless  exercise  of 
patronage,  much  has  been  done  to  call  forth,  if  not  to  justify, 
even  the  warmest  invectives  that  have  been  uttered  upon  this 
subject.  When  one  thinks  of  the  high  and  the  holy  ends  to 
which  an  established  priesthood  might  be  made  subservient,  it 
is  quite  grievous  to  observe  the  sordid  politics  which  have  to 
do  with  so  many  of  our  ecclesiastical  nominations.  Endow- 
ments cease  to  be  respectable  when,  in  the  hands  of  a  calculat- 
ing statesman,  they  degenerate  into  the  instruments  by  which 
he  prosecutes  his  game  of  ambition;  or  when,  employed  as  the 
bribes  of  political  subserviency,  they  expose  either  our  church 
or  our  universities  to  be  trodden  under  foot  by  the  unseemly 
inroads  of  mere  office-mongers.  It  is  thus  that  a  land  may  at 
length  be  provoked  to  eject  from  its  borders  the  establishment 
either  of  an  indolent  or  immoral  clergy,  wherewith  it  is  bur- 
dened, and  to  look,  without  regret,  on  the  spoliation  or  the  decay 
of  revenue  in  colleges.  It  is  truly  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if 
the  poverty  neither  of  lazy  priests,  nor  of  lazy  and  luxurious 
professors,  should  meet  with  sympathy  from  the  public.  The 
same  generous  triumph  that  was  felt  on  the  destruction  of  the 
old  monasteries,  still  continues  to  be  felt  on  the  destruction  of 


206  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1827. 

every  old  and  useless  framework;  so  that,  when  either  a  church 
becomes  secularized,  or  universities,  instead  of  being  the  living 
fountain-heads,  become  the  dormitories  of  literature,  they  will, 
sooner  or  later,  be  swept  off  from  the  country  by  the  verdict 
of  popular  condemnation." 

Elevation  of  the  standard  of  scholarship  in  the  Scottish  uni- 
versities was  a  subject  urged  in  the  same  work,  with  all  its  au- 
thor's power  of  argumentation,  and  from  the  statements  therein 
made,  it  appears  that  some  effort  of  the  kind  was  greatly 
needed.  The  whole  college  course  extended  to  four  years;  but 
the  yearly  attendance  was  limited  to  one  session  of  six  months. 
On  entering,  "  the  student  was  subjected  to  no  preliminary  ex- 
amination. It  was  required  that  he  should  be  acquainted  with 
the  rudiments  of  the  Latin,  but  he  might  be,  and  he  generally 
was,  altogether  ignorant  of  the  Greek  language.  The  junior 
Latin  class,  in  a  Scottish  university,  scarcely  ranked  higher  in 
its  exercises,  than  the  head  form  in  any  of  the  best  Eng- 
lish schools,  while  the  professor  of  Greek  had  to  begin  his 
pupils  with  the  alphabet  of  that  tongue."  Dr.  Chalmers  pro- 
posed as  an  improvement,  "  that  a  gymnasium  or  school  of  the 
highest  grade,  in  which  mathematics  and  the  classics  should  be 
taught  by  one  or  more  tutors,  with  salaries  higher  than  those 
of  the  ordinary  schoolmaster,  and  lower  than  those  of  the  pro- 
fessor, should  be  attached  to  each  of  the  universities  ;  that  by 
these  tutors  all  such  instructions  should  be  supplied  as  had 
been  hitherto  communicated  in  the  earlier  Latin,  Greek,  and 
mathematical  classes  of  the  university  ;  that  in  order  to  test 
that  capability  of  translating  the  simpler  Latin  and  Greek  au- 
thors, and  that  acquaintance  with  the  elements  of  geometry, 
which  should  be  required  of  every  student  before  admission  to 
the  university,  an  entrance-examination  should  be  instituted. 
He  did  not  propose  that  attendance  upon  the  gymnasia  con- 
nected with  the  colleges  should  be  made  imperative.  It  would 
be  sufficient  if  the  candidate  for  entrance  proved  himself  to  be 
possessed  of  the  necessary  qualifications,  whether  these  had 
been  attained  under  the  training  of  the  college  tutors  or  under 
any  ordinary  schoolmaster."     It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the 


MT,  47.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  207 

obvious  necessity  of  some  such  reformation  could  fail  to  actu- 
ate the  friends  of  liberal  education  in  Scotland;  and  yet  strange 
to  say,  we  are  informed  that,  down  to  the  present  day,  though 
great  advances  have  been  made  in  the  higher  schools  of  the 
country,  within  the  walls  of  the  universities  no  alteration  as  to 
the  junior  classes  has  ever  been  attempted. 

Yet  Dr.  Chalmers,  while  censuring  Scottish  professors  for 
tolerating  a  very  humble  degree  of  scholarship  among  their 
pupils,  takes  occasion  to  pay  a  just  tribute  to  the  literary  talent 
and  industry  prevalent  among  themselves.  "  The  truth  is," 
he  observes,  '*  that  greatly  more  than  half  the  distinguished 
authorship  of  our  land  is  professorial ;  and,  till  the  present 
generation,  we  scarcely  remember,  with  the  exception  of  Hume, 
in  philosophy,  and  Thomson  in  poetry,  any  of  our  eminent 
writers  who  did  not  achieve,  or  at  least  germinate,  all  their 
greatest  works  while  laboring  in  their  vocation  of  public  in- 
structors in  one  or  other  of  our  universities.  Nay,  generally 
speaking,  these  publications  were  the  actual  product  of  their 
labor  in  the  capacity  of  teachers,  and  passed  into  authorship 
through  the  medium  of  their  respective  chairs.  Whatever 
charges  may  have  been  preferred  against  the  methods  of  uni- 
versity education  in  Scotland,  it  is  at  least  fortunate  for  the 
literary  character  of  our  nation,  that  the  professors  have  not 
felt,  in  conducting  the  business  of  their  appointments,  as  if 
they  were  dealing  altogether  with  boys.  To  this  we  owe  the 
manly,  and  original,  and  independent  treatment  which  so  many 
of  them  have  bestowed  on  their  appropriate  sciences,  and  by 
which  they  have  been  enabled  to  superadd  one  service  to  an- 
other. They  have  not  only  taught  philosophy  ;  they  have  also 
both  rectified  its  doctrines,  and  added  their  own  views  and  dis- 
coveries to  the  mass  of  pre-existent  learning.  They,  in  fact, 
have  been  the  chief  agents  in  enlarging  our  country's  science  ; 
and  it  is  mainly,  though  not  exclusively,  to  them  that  Scotland 
is  indebted  for  her  eminence  and  high  estimation  in  the  repub- 
lic of  letters." 

In  September,  Dr.  Chalmers  made  a  rapid  tour  through  the 
north  of  Ireland.    Upon  his  return,  the  living  of  St.  Cuthbert's, 


208  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS. 


1827 


Edinburgh,  one  of  the  most  desirable  in  Scotland,  and  then 
vacant  by  the  death  of  Sir  Henry  Moncrief,  was  made  to  him, 
but  dechned,  from  a  conviction  of  the  superiority  of  a  profes- 
sorship in  point  of  usefulness. 

But  little  more  than  a  month  afterward  another  attempt  was 
made  to  secure  his  services  in  Edinburgh,  which  was  destined 
to  be  more  successful.  On  the  31st  of  October,  1827,  the 
town  council  and  magistrates  of  Edinburgh,  unanimously 
elected  Dr.  Chalmers  to  the  professorship  of  Systematic  The- 
ology in  their  university.  "  As  the  appointment  took  place  so 
close  upon  the  opening  of  the  collegiate  session,  it  was  arranged 
that  he  should  not  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  new  office,  till 
November,  1828.  The  year  thus  given  for  preparation  was 
most  diligently  improved."  The  composition  of  his  theological 
lectures  was  commenced  immediately,  and  the  treatise  on  Po- 
litical Economy,  on  which  he  had  been  at  work  for  some  time 
previous,  was  laid  aside  to  make  way  for  the  more  urgent  de- 
mand. Yet  his  time  was  far  from  being  all  his  own.  A  con- 
tinual influx  of  visitors  absorbed  a  large  portion  of  each 
day  :  nor  was  it  without  pleasure  that  he  conducted  them 
round  among  the  memorials  of  the  past,  which  abounded  in 
the  neighborhood — objects  which  operated  upon  his  imagina- 
tion, as  border  legend  did  upon  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott." 
St.  Andrew's  was  the  first  place  in  Scotland  which  the  light  of 
the  gospel  had  visited  ;  and  the  Tower  of  St.  Regulus  still 
survived  as  an  impressive  relic  of  primitive  Christianity — a  tall, 
square,  solid  column,  upon  which  the  storms  of  ten  centuries 
or  more  have  spent  themselves  in  vain.  In  Roman  Catholic 
times,  St.  Andrew's  had  been  the  seat  of  the  primacy — its 
castle  tenanted  by  the  heads  of  a  lordly  hierarchy — its  cathe- 
dral, upon  which  the  labor  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  was 
expended,  the  largest  and  stateliest  ecclesiastical  edifice  in  the 
kingdom.  Its  university,  the  most  ancient  in  Scotland,  was 
the  cradle  of  the  Reformation.  In  front  of  St.  Salvator's  Col- 
lege was  the  hallowed  spot  where  Hamilton  expired  among  the 
flame,  and  close  by  the  castle  was  the  scene  of  Wishart's  mar- 
tyrdom.    From  the  deck  of  a  French  galley,  while  his  feet  lay 


^T.  47.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  209 

in  irons,  the  spires  of  St.  Andrew's  were  pointed  out  to  John 
Knox.  '  Yes/  said  he,  '  I  know  it  well,  for  I  see  the  steeple 
of  that  place  where  God  first  opened  my  mouth  in  public  to 
His  glory  ;  and  I  am  fully  persuaded,  how  weak  soever  I  now 
appear,  that  I  shall  not  depart  this  life  till  that  my  tongue  shall 
glorify  His  godly  name  in  the  same  place.'  The  very  pulpit 
from  which  his  fervid  tongue  fulfilled  that  prophesy  is  still 
shown  at  St.  Andrew's,  while  the  removal  of  every  vestige  of 
Popery,  and  the  ruins  of  castle  and  cathedral,  remain  to  tell 
us  of  the  preacher's  power.  In  still  later  days,  Henderson 
and  Melville,  Rutherford  and  Halyburton,  had  wandered 
through  the  college  gardens,  meditating  those  acts,  or  musing 
over  those  writings  which  have  so  extensively  contributed  to 
mould  the  character  of  the  Scottish  people.  Amid  localities 
so  rich  in  hallowed  remembrance.  Dr.  Chalmers  reveled  with 
intense  delight.  He  studied  the  histories  connected  with  each. 
Again  and  again  did  he  return  to  them,  and  with  a  growing 
enthusiasm  gaze  on  the  venerable  relics.  At  one  or  other 
more  sacred  spot  he  might  be  seen  at  times  standing  lost  in 
thought,  heedless  of  notice  or  salutation.  His  power  of  vivid 
conception  had  rebuilt  the  ruined  walls,  had  repeopled  the 
silent  area,  had  raised  the  stake,  and  brought  up  the  martyr's 
form  as  he  stood  heroic  amid  the  flames.  It  was  a  sentiment 
far  deeper  than  that  of  mere  antiquarianism  which  absorbed 
him.  He  had  that  sentiment.  It  glowed  round  every  relic 
with  which  any  tale  of  olden  time  was  linked.  But  it  was  a 
deeper  and  more  powerful  emotion  which  filled  his  breast, 
when,  on  the  very  ground  they  trod,  and  in  the  places  where 
they  received  their  noblest  vindication,  he  communed  with  the 
men  and  sympathized  with  the  principles  of  the  Scottish  Re- 
formation. An  hour's  walk  was  sufficient  for  visiting  the  most 
remarkable  localities,  and  whoever  came  to  him.  Dr.  Chalmers 
was  always  impatient  till  he  had  them  off  to  a  '  round  of  the 
ruins.'  If  the  many  groups  thus  guided  had  been  chronicled, 
we  should  have  a  long  and  strange  array  of  British  peers  and 
Glasgow  merchants,  burghers  of  Anstruther,  and  cottagers  of 
Kilmany,  escorted  with  equal  dehght,  and  having  lavished 
18 


210  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1S28. 

upon  them  an  equal  attention.  Each  fresh  eye  that  looked 
upon  those  ruins,  gazed,  he  fancied,  with  a  feeling  kindred  to 
his  own,  and  it  revived  and  redoubled  his  own  enjoyment  to 
communicate  such  a  pleasure.  During  the  later  period  of  his 
residence  in  St.  Andrew's,  Dr.  Chalmers  lived  in  a  house 
which  had  formed  part  of  St.  Leonard's  College,  and  he  had 
great  delight  in  announcing  to  his  guests  that  they  were  under 
the  roof  which  covered  the  small  upper  chamber — approachable 
then  only  by  a  ladder — which  had  been  the  study  of  the  cele- 
brated Buchanan,  and  that  they  were  in  the  dweUing  where 
Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  being  asked  by  one  of  the  professors 
whether  he  had  been  satisfied  with  the  dinner  which  had  been 
provided  for  him,  returned  the  fierce  reply :  '  Sir,  I  came  to 
Scotland,  not  to  eat  good  dinners,  but  to  see  savage  men  and 
savage  manners,  and  I  have  not  been  disappointed.'  " 

Upon  the  termination  of  his  last  session  at  St.  Andrew's, 
his  students  once  more  pressed  upon  him  the  acceptance  of  a 
testimonial  of  their  esteem  ;  and  that  which  he  correctly  de- 
clined in  the  course  of  his  labors,  he  could  with  perfect  propri- 
ety accept,  at  their  close.  The  appropriate  gift  consisted  of  a 
copy  of  Walton's  Polyglot,  with  Castell's  Lexicon.  The  last 
lecture  of  his  course  was  delivered  on  the  24th  of  April,  and 
was  closed  with  a  valedictory  to  his  class,  brief,  but  very 
appropriate  and  beautiful. 

"I  will  pursue  the  connections  of  moral  philosophy  with 
Christianity  no  further  at  present.  So  much  am  I  impressed 
with  the  unity  of  the  two  subjects,  or  rather  with  the  way  in 
which  the  one  graduates  into  the  other,  that  I  scarcely  feel 
myself  translated  to  another  walk  of  speculation  by  the  re- 
moval which  is  now  before  me  from  an  ethical  to  a  theological 
chair.  There  is,  at  least,  nothing  violent  in  the  transition,  for 
I  feel  it  as  if  but  a  step  in  advance  from  the  rudiments  to  the 
higher  lessons  of  the  same  science.  But  though  mentally 
there  may  be  little  or  no  change  implied  by  this  transference 
of  my  duties,  yet  personally  I  must  confess  that  it  cannot  be 
accomphshed  without  a  feeling  of  painful  laceration,  insomuch 
that  I  dare  hardly  trust  myself  with  the  expression  of  one 


^T.  48.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  211 

parting  homage  to  a  place  all  whose  localities,  from  its  class- 
rooms even  to  the  remotest  corner  of  its  area,  are  interwoven 
with  the  remembrances  of  early  boyhood.  There  is  one  ex- 
perience, gentlemen,  to  which  the  history  of  my  various  changes 
in  life  his  peculiarly,  and,  I  will  even  say,  has  painfully  ex- 
posed me,  and  that  is,  how  little  a  man  gains,  or  rather,  indeed, 
how  much  he  loses,  in  the  happiness  of  natural  and  healthful 
enjoyment,  by  passing  from  a  narrower  to  a  wider,  and  what 
some  may  call,  a  more  elevated  sphere.  There  is  not  room  in 
the  heart  of  man  for  more  than  a  certain  number  of  objects, 
and  he  is  therefore  placed  far  more  favorably  for  the  develop- 
ment of  all  that  pleasure  which  lies  in  the  kind  and  friendly 
affections  of  our  nature,  when  the  intimacy  of  his  regards  is 
permitted  to  rest  on  a  few,  than  when,  bustled  through  an  in- 
terminable variety  of  persons  and  things,  each  individual  can 
have  but  a  slender  hold  upon  the  memory,  and  a  hold  as  slen- 
der upon  the  emotions.  It  is  thus,  that  on  looking  back  upon 
my  city  experience  I  have  little  more  than  the  dazzhng  recol- 
lection of  a  feverish  and  troubled  dream,  while  athwart  this 
medium  and  at  a  larger  distance  in  the  retrospect,  I  can  enjoy 
the  sweet  prospect  of  a  country  parish,  all  whose  scenes  and 
cottage  families  are  dear  to  me.  I  know  that  I  am  to  repeat 
this  experience,  and  am  quite  sure  that  amid  the  din,  and  the 
confusion,  and  the  crowded  attendance  of  that  larger  theater 
to  which  I  go,  I  shall  often  look  back  with  a  sigh  on  the  closer 
and  the  kindlier  fellowships  that  I  have  held  Avith  the  students 
within  these  walls.  Be  assured,  gentlemen,  as  you  would  of 
any  moral  certainty,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  busier  scenes 
which  are  now  before  me  that  is  fitted  to  displace  you  from  my 
recollections,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  enhance  all  my  regrets 
and  all  my  regards,  when  on  contrasting  the  students  of  St. 
Andrew's  with  those  of  Edinburgh,  I  shall  think  of  my  connec- 
tion with  you  as  a  peculiar  and  a  more  tender  relationship." 

In  the  succeeding  General  Assembly  the  principal  business 
in  which  Dr.  Chalmers  figured  was  the  address  on  the  Test 
and  Corporation  Acts,  moved  by  himself  in  the  following  terms  : 
*'  That  the   General  Assembly  should  present  an  address  to 


212  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  182S. 

His  Majesty,  of  their  high  satisfaction  at  the  Act  which  had 
obtained  the  sanction  of  the  legislature,  for  repealing  so  much 
of  several  acts  of  Parliament  which  imposed  the  necessity  of 
taking  the  sacrament  as  a  qualification  for  entering  upon  office." 
His  remarks  in  support  of  this  motion  constitute  valuable  ma- 
terial to  one  tracing  the  progress  of  his  mind.  "  There  is  one 
most  appropriate  topic  for  a  place  in  our  address,  and  that  is 
the  Repeal  of  the  Corporation  and  Test  Acts.  It  were  cer- 
tainly not  in  good  taste  for  us  to  specialize  with  any  degree  of 
minuteness  such  events  as  are  merely  political.  But  the  meas- 
ure to  which  I  now  refer  is  not  of  that  character.  It  is  not  a 
secular  but  a  sacred  interest  which  is  involved  in  it.  It  were 
strange,  I  do  think,  to  pass  over  in  silence,  or  even  to  pass  over 
slightly,  a  matter  so  connected  as  this  is  with  religious  liberty 
and  the  rights  of  conscience  ;  more  especially,  as  what  our 
government  has  actually  done  upon  this  question  is  so  fitted  to 
rejoice  every  enlightened  friend  of  Christianit}^  and  in  particu- 
lar to  call  forth  the  acknowledgments  and  grarulations  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

**  We  have  heard  the  repeal  of  these  Acts  spoken  of  as  the 
removal  of  a  stigma  from  our  church.  I  am  not  sure  if  this 
expresses  my  precise  feeling  upon  the  subject.  The  truth  is, 
I  look  upon  the  whole  history  of  this  matter  as  in  the  highest 
degree  honorable  to  the  Scottish  Establishment,  and  as  fitted 
to  demonstrate  the  native  stability  of  that  basis  upon  which 
she  rests.  It  has  now  become  experimentally  palpable  that 
she  stands  in  need  of  none  of  those  securities  wherewith  her 
fearful  sister  in  the  south  thought  it  necessary  at  one  time  to 
prop  up  what  she  must  then  have  felt  to  be  her  frail  and  pre- 
carious existence.  Instead  of  such  securities  for  us,  we 
ourselves  were  the  objects  of  jealousy  to  the  hierarchy  of 
England,  and  thrust,  along  with  its  general  body  of  sectarians, 
to  an  outfield  place  beyond  the  limits  of  her  guarded  inclosure. 
And  what  has  been  the  result  ?  A  striking  lesson,  if  blind  in- 
tolerance would  but  learn  it.  In  virtue  of  our  inherent  strength, 
we,  in  the  midst  of  disabilities,  have  stood  and  prospered  ;  and 
the  motto  of  our  northern  church — *Nec  tamen  consumebatur ' — 


^T.  48.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  213 

blazes  in  characters  as  fresh  and  nndefaced  as  ever  upon  her 
forehead.  The  truth  is,  that  our  provincial  Establishment  bids 
as  fair  for  sound  and  vigorous  endurance  as  does  the  great  na- 
tional Episcopacy  of  these  realms  ;  and  at  this  moment  it  must 
be  palpable  to  every  eye  that,  wanting  all  her  artificial  protec- 
tions, we  yet  outpeer  her  far  in  the  love  and  reverence  of  our 
country's  population. 

"  On  the  subject  of  the  difference  between  the  two  Establish- 
ments, I  have  but  one  word  to  offer  on  the  question  where  it  is 
that  the  stigma  lies.  In  walking  through  a  street  the  eye  is 
sometimes  arrested  by  the  sight  of  large  wooden  props  leaning 
obliquely  on  the  walls  of  one  of  the  houses,  and  obviously 
placed  there  for  the  purpose  of  upholding  it.  Is  it  possible, 
sir,  to  resist  the  impression  of  that  being  the  craziest  edifice 
along  the  whole  pavement  ?  The  fabric  of  the  English  Church 
w4th  her  Test  and  Corporation  Acts,  incurred  the  whole  dis- 
credit of  such  an  appearance ;  and  she  has  inconceivably 
strengthened  herself,  both  in  reality  and  in  public  estimation, 
by  the  taking  of  them  down.  The  only  blunder  is,  that  to 
please  the  fancy  of  the  eye  of  certain  of  her  devotees,  long 
accustomed  to  the  sight  of  some  such  projections,  and  whose 
taste  would  have  been  ofl:ended  by  the  want  of  them,  she  has 
erected  in  their  place  a  buttress  of  stucco,  in  the  shape  of  a 
declaration.  It  was  proposed  at  first  that  the  Kirk  of  Scot- 
land should  have  been  conjoined  with  the  Church  of  England 
in  this  declaration.  That,  sir,  I  would  have  felt  to  be  a  stigma; 
and  if  anything  in  the  progress  of  this  most  delightful  bill  was 
more  satisfactory  than  another,  it  was  that  upon  this  part  of 
the  subject  they  took  another  thought,  and  resolved  to  keep 
the  whole  of  this  stigma  to  themselves. 

"  And  now,  sir,  I  have  just  to  crave  your  toleration  for  one 
word  more,  in  order  to  a  very  short  insertion  which  I  would 
humbly  propose  in  this  part  of  your  address.  You  are  aware 
that  the  philosophy  of  our  age  is  all  in  favor  of  free  trade,  and 
that  the  extension  of  this  principle  to  Christianity  carries  an  in- 
ference along  with  it  unfavorable  to  religious  establishments. 
Now,  sir,  in  the  masses  and  the  large  movements  which  take 


S14  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1828. 

place  among  the  parties  and  proceedings  of  a  state,  opinion  is 
apt  to  be  taken  by  whole  bodies  of  men  in  the  bulk,  and  with- 
out any  reference  had  to  certain  important  modifications  which 
it  is  dangerous  to  lose  sight  of.  I  feel  convinced,  sir,  that  on 
this  very  question  there  is  the  want  of  a  most  necessary  dis- 
crimination between  the  use  of  these  artificial  securities  for  an 
Establishment  wliich  have  now  been  abolished,  and  the  use  of 
an  Establishment  at  all.  And,  therefore,  now  is  the  time, 
when  felicitating  our  monarch  on  the  abolition  of  the  one,  that 
we,  in  one  short  and  emphatic  sentence,  should  lift  our  strenu- 
ous testimony  in  behalf  of  the  other.  It  follows  not  because 
there  should  be  a  full  equality  between  churchmen  and  secta- 
rians in  every  civil  and  political  right,  that  therefore  a  church 
and  an  Establishment  are  uncalled  for.  Believing,  as  we  do, 
that  without  the  maintenance  of  a  national  clergy,  all  the  zeal, 
and  effort,  and  activity  of  dissenters  could  not  save  our  land 
from  lapsing  into  a  tenfold  grosser  heathenism  than  it  other- 
wise would  do  ;  and  fearful  as  we  at  the  same  time  are,  that 
some  may  be  counting  on  the  last  glorious  triumph  of  liberality 
as  a  step  in  advance  toward  the  overthrow  of  religious  estab- 
lishments, we  are  all  the  more  imperiously  called  upon  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  things  which  differ  ;  and  while  we  rejoice 
in  the  wider  door  that  has  now  been  opened  for  sectarians  to 
all  the  privileges  of  citizens,  to  accompany  this  with  our 
pointed  declaration  in  behalf  of  a  church  to  which  I  heartily 
believe  that  Scotland  stands  mainly  indebted  for  the  religion 
and  the  worth  of  her  people. 

*'  I  can  truly  say  that  I  feel  as  much  in  earnest  for  the  pub- 
lic testimony  in  behalf  of  the  latter  sentiment,  as  in  behalf  of 
the  former ;  for  the  appeal  by  us  on  the  side  of  a  religious 
Establishment,  is  an  appeal  on  the  side  of  that  law  of  tolera- 
tion which  has  recently  been  extended  to  all  sects  ;  and  I 
think  that  a  united  testimony  in  favor  of  both  these  principles 
would  come  with  peculiar  grace  and  propriety  from  the  Church 
of  Scotland — from  that  church  which,  on  the  one  hand,  is  a 
living  instance  of  the  uselessness  of  those  restrictions  which 
have  now  been  done  away,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  has  made 


^T.    48.  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  215 

such  ample  returns  for  the  protection  of  the  state  in  the  worth 
of  her  services  ;  and  I  further  think,  sir,  that  such  a  mani- 
festation on  our  part  Avere  not  only  in  the  highest  degree  be- 
coming, but  considering  the  aspect  of  the  times,  were  in  the 
highest  degree  seasonable.  With  all  my  predilections  on  the  \ 
side  of  freedom,  I  do  not  apprehend  so  much  of  danger  to  our  | 
land  from  the  advances  of  liberality,  as  from  the  over  impetu- 
ous career  of  a  headlong  and  unguarded  liberalism.  I  have 
spoken  with  frankness  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  most 
assuredly,  without  the  slightest  feeling  of  disrespect  ;  conceiv- 
ing, as  I  do,  that  to  put  forth  upon  her  the  invading  hand  of  a 
destroyer,  were,  instrumentally  speaking,  to  reach  the  deadli- 
est possible  blow  at  the  Christianity  of  the  nation." 

The  motion  Avas  lost,  but  the  liberal  party  could  at  least 
console  themselves  with  the  fact  that  they  had  thereby  obtained 
an  "  expression  of  the  Assembly's  approval  of  the  repeal." 

Mr.  Irving  was  at  the  same  time  in  Edinburgh,  delivering  a 
series  of  lectures  on  prophesy.  "He  is  drawing,"  says  Dr. 
Chalmers,  '*  prodigious  crowds.  We  attempted  this  morning 
to  force  our  way  into  St.  Andrew's  Church,  but  it  was  all  in 
vain.  He  changes  to  the  West  Church  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  public." 

"  Holiday ,  26th. — For  the  first  time  heard  Mr.  Irving  in  the 
evening.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  is  quite  woeful. 
There  is  power  and  richness,  and  gleams  of  exquisite  beauty, 
but  withal  a  mysticism  and  an  extreme  allegorization  which  I 
am  sure  must  be  pernicious  to  the  general  cause.  This  is  the 
impression  of  every  clergyman  I  have  met,  and  some  think  of 
making  a  friendly  remonstrance  with  him  upon  the  subject. 
He  sent  me  a  letter  he  had  written  to  the  king  against  the  re- 
peal of  the  Test  and  Corporation  Acts,  and  begged  that  I 
would  read  every  word  of  it  before  I  spoke.  I  did  so,  and 
found  it  unsatisfactory  and  obscure,  but  not  half  so  much  so  as 
his  sermon  of  this  evening." 

The  rest  of  this  summer  Dr.  Chalmers  devoted  entirely  to 
preparation  for  his  theological  lectures  in  Edinburgh,  upon  which 
he  entered  in  the  beginning  of  November.     His  inauguration 


216  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1828. 

took  place  on  the  6th,  and  the  introductory  lecture  was  delivered 
on  the  following  Monday  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 
"  The  morning  of  that  day  was  singularly  unpropitious,  showers 
of  snow  and  hail  sweeping  through  the  college  courts  ;  yet  from 
so  early  an  hour  as  nine,  those  who  had  secured  that  privilege 
were  passing  by  a  private  entrance  into  the  class-room,  while  so 
great  a  crowd  besieged  the  outer  door,  that  a  strong  body  of 
police  found  it  diflBcult  to  restrain  the  tumult. 

"  It  was  a  day,"  says  Mr.  Bruce  Cunningham,  **  as  you  will 
easily  believe,  of  no  common  expectation  and  excitement,  not 
only  among  those  who  were  professionally  required  to  become 
his  pupils,  but  also  to  not  a  few  of  the  worthiest  citizens  of 
Edinburgh,  who  having  once  and  again  listened  with  impas- 
sioned wonder  and  delight  to  his  mighty  words  as  a  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  scarcely  knew  what  to  expect  from  him  as  an 
academic  exoounder  and  disciplinarian  in  the  science  of  the- 
ology. If  1  may  judge  of  other  minds  from  the  state  of  my 
own  feelings  at  the  time,  I  may  safely  state,  that  at  no  time, 
either  before  or  since,  has  a  tumult  of  emotions,  so  peculiar 
and  intense,  agitated  the  hearts  of  the  many  who  waited  for  his 
first  appearance  in  the  chair  of  theology.  I  well  remember 
his  look  as  he  first  came  from  the  vestry  into  the  passage  lead- 
ing to  the  desk.  He  had  an  air  of  extreme  abstraction,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  of  full  presence  of  mind.  Ascending  the 
steps  in  his  familiar  resolute  manner,  he  almost  immediately 
engaged  in  his  opening  prayer  :  that  was  most  startling,  and 
yet  deeply  solemnizing.  In  closest  union  with  a  simple,  forci- 
ble antithesis  of  intellectual  conception,  clothed  in  still  more 
antithetical  expressions,  there  was  a  deep  vital  consciousness 
of  the  glory  of  the  divine  presence.  The  power  of  the  dialec- 
tician restrained  and  elevated  by  the  prayerful  reverence  as  of 
some  prophet  in  ancient  Israel,  imparted  a  most  remarkable 
peculiarity  of  aspect  to  his  first  devotional  utterance,  in  the 
class.  On  his  discourse  I  shall  not  presume  on  your  patience 
by  anything  like  detailed  remark.  All  felt  far  more  deeply 
than  they  could  worthily  declare,  that  it  was  a  most  glorious 
prelude,  and  that  at  once  and  forever  his  right  to  reign  as  a 


.ET.  4S.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  217 

king  in  the  broad  realms  of  theological  science,  and  to  rule 
over  their  own  individual  minds  as  a  teacher,  was  as  unequivo- 
cal as  his  mastery  over  a  popular  assembly.  Personally  I 
always  feel,  in  recalling  that  scene,  as  if,  by  some  peculiar  en- 
chantment of  association,  I  had  listened,  all  unconscious  of  the 
present  world,  to  one  or  other  of  Handel's  most  sublime  efforts 
of  harmony.  To  this  hour  I  dwell  with  all  the  mysterious 
delight  that  is  awakened  by  some  grand  choral  symphony  on 
some  of  his  novel  expressions,  which,  borrowed  from  physical 
science,  directly  tended,  b)''  almost  more  than  the  force  of  his 
best  diagrams,  to  make  his  noble  thoughts  all  our  own." 

The  rapturous  applause  which  hailed  the  opening  of  the 
course  continued,  w4th  scarcely  a  sensible  abatement,  through- 
out the  session.  The  lecturer  was  dealing  with  his  favorite 
subjects — Natural  Theology  and  Evidences  of  Christianity — 
and  eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  of  presenting  th-ereupon  the 
results  of  long  continued  and  mature  reflection.  "  And  he  had 
much  to  animate  him  in  the  audience  he  addressed — an  au- 
dience altogether  unique  w^ithin  the  walls  of  a  university,  em- 
bracing in  addition  to  his  own  regular  students,  distinguished 
members  of  the  various  professions,  and  many  of  the  most 
intelligent  citizens  of  Edinburgh."  This  latter  class,  very  pro- 
perly feeling  that  something  more  than  applause  was  due  from 
them  to  one  who  had  contributed  so  much  to  their  instruction, 
and  delight,  at  the  end  of  the  course,  presented  him  with  an 
addition  to  his  salary  of  more  than  two  hundred  pounds. 

Before  the  end  of  that  same  session,  Dr.  Chalmers  found 
himself  called  upon  to  take  part  in  the  great  political  question 
of  Catholic  Emancipation.  A  letter  from  Sir  James  Macintosh, 
of  the  22d  February,  1829,  urging  the  importance  of  making 
public  his  views  on  the  subject,  which  were  known  by  his 
friends  to  be  liberal,  drew  forth  one  of  his  most  brilhant  efforts, 
not,  however,  as  Sir  James  had  suggested,  in  the  form  of  a 
sermon  or  pamphlet,  but  of  a  speech  before  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  Edinburgh,  in  order  to  petition  in  favor  of  the  Cath- 
olic Emancipation  Bill.  That  speech  had  tremendous  effect 
on  the  cause  at  the  time,  and  for  the  broad,  liberal  and  truly 
19 


218  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHAUilERS.  1828. 

Protestant  spirit  which  irobued  it,  merited  the  applause  it 
received.  The  last  paragraph  is  especially  worthy  of  ever- 
lasting remembrance. 

**  It  is  not  because  I  hold  Popery  to  be  innocent  that  I  want 
the  removal  of  these  disabilities  ;  but  because  I  hold,  that  if 
these  were  taken  out  of  the  way  she  would  be  tenfold  more 
assailable.  It  is  not  because  I  am  indifferent  to  the  good  of 
Protestantism  that  I  want  to  displace  these  artificial  crutches 
from  under  her;  but  because  I  want  that,  freed  from  every 
symptom  of  decrepitude  and  decay,  she  should  stand  forth  in 
her  own  native  strength,  and  make  manifest  to  all  men  how 
firm  a  support  she  has  on  the  goodness  of  her  cause,  and  on  the 
basis  of  her  orderly  and  well  laid  arguments.  It  is  because  I 
count  so  much — and  will  any  Protestant  here  present  say  that 
I  count  too  much  ? — on  her  Bible,  and  her  evidences,  and  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  her  churches,  and  the  force  of  her  resist- 
less appeals  to  the  conscience  and  the  understandings  of  men; 
it  is  because  of  her  strength  and  suflEiciency  in  these  that  I 
would  disclaim  the  aids  of  the  statute-book,  and  own  no  de- 
pendence or  obligation  whatever  on  a  system  of  intolerance. 
These  were  enough  for  her  in  the  days  of  her  suflfering,  and 
should  be  more  than  enough  for  her  in  the  days  of  her  com- 
parative safety.  It  is  not  by  our  fears  and  our  false  alarms 
that  we  do  honor  to  Protestantism.  A  far  more  befitting  honor 
to  the  great  cause  is  the  homage  of  our  confidence  ;  for  what 
Sheridan  said  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  admits  of  most  em- 
phatic application  to  this  religion  of  truth  and  liberty.  'Give,* 
says  the  great  orator,  *  give  to  ministers  a  corrupt  House  of 
Commons  ;  give  them  a  pliant  and  a  servile  House  of  Lords; 
give  them  the  keys  of  the  Treasury  and  the  patronage  of  the 
Crown  ;  and  give  me  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  with  this 
mighty  engine  I  will  overthrow  the  fabric  of  corruption,  and 
establish  upon  its  ruins  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  people.' 
In  like  manner,  give  the  Catholics  of  Ireland  their  emancipa- 
tion ;  give  them  a  seat  in  the  Parliament  of  their  country  ; 
give  them  a  free  and  equal  participation  in  the  politics  of  the 
realm  ;  give  them  a  place  at  the  right  ear  of  majesty,  and  a 


^T.    49.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  219 

voice  in  his  counsels  ;  and  give  me  the  circulation  of  the  Bible, 
and  with  this  mighty  engine  I  will  overthrow  the  tyranny  of 
Antichrist,  and  establish  the  fair  and  original  form  of  Christi- 
anity on  its  ruins.* 

"  The  politics  of  the  question  I  have  left  to  other  and  abler 
hands.  I  view  it  only  in  its  religious  bearings  ;  and  I  give  it 
as  my  honest  conviction,  and  I  believe  the  conviction  of  every 
true-hearted  Protestant  who  knows  wherein  it  is  that  the  great 
strength  of  his  cause  lies,  that  we  have  everything  to  hope 
from  this  proposed  emancipation,  and  that  we  have  nothing  to 
fear." 

"  The  effects  of  that  speech,"  says  Mr.  Ramsay,  **  have 
been  described  as  something  very  remarkable.  An  excitement 
and  enthusiasm  pervaded  the  large  and  closely  crowded  as- 
semblage seldom  witnessed  in  modern  times.  I  heard  our 
most  distinguished  Scottish  critic  (Lord  Jeffrey),  who  was 
present  on  the  occasion,  give  it  as  his  deliberate  opinion,  that 
never  had  eloquence  produced  a  greater  effect  upon  a  popular 
assembly,  and  that  he  could  not  believe  more  had  ever  been 
done  by  the  oratory  of  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Burke  or  Sher- 
idan." 


*  We  have  in  this  case  a  curious  example  of  the  contrast  sometimes 
existing  between  the  judgment  of  an  author  and  that  of  the  world  upon 
his  production.  "  The  delivery  of  this  splendid  passage,  which  was 
given  with  prodigious  force,  elicited  a  burst  of  applause  so  deafening 
and  enthusiastic,  that  the  effect  was  altogether  sublime.  The  shouts  and 
huzzas  were  thrice  renewed,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  the  speaker  could 
proceed." — Caledonian  Mercury,  March,  1829. 

"  The  conclusion  of  the  reverend  Doctor's  speech  was  greeted  with 
renewed  shouts  and  huzzas,  the  whole  audience  standing  and  waving 
their  hats  in  the  air.  This  lasted  several  minutes,  and  it  was  not  with- 
out difficulty  that  the  tumult  of  admiration  was  allayed." — Ibid. 

"  I  was  quite  uncomfortable  in  speaking,  from  my  excessively  high 
pitch  of  voice,  beneath  which  I  could  not  fall.  It  was  well  received, 
notwithstanding.  I  have  uniformly  experienced  the  insincerity  of  that 
pleasure  which  is  afforded  by  the  praise  of  others." — Journal,  March 
Ufh.  1829. 


220  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1820. 

The  same  subject  Dr.  Chalmers  also  presented  at  a  meeting 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,  entering  more  fully  into  his 
reasons  for  advocating  the  removal  from  Roman  Catholics  of 
all  civil  disabilities. 

In  the  midst  of  these  exciting  occupations,  he  received  in- 
formation of  the  death  of  his  youngest  and  favorite  brother, 
Alexander,  on  the  22d  April,  1829.  On  the  day  of  the  fune- 
ral he  entered  these  words  in  his  journal  letter  to  Mrs.  Chal- 
mers :  "  This  is  the  fifth  time  within  these  few  years  that  I 
have  been  chief  mourner,  and  carried  the  head  of  a  relative  to 
the  grave.  But  this  has  been  far  the  heaviest  of  them  all." 
Again,  on  the  next  day  :  "  9,bth  April. — I  alternated  my  em- 
ployments within  doors  by  walks  in  the  little  garden,  where  all 
the  objects  exposed  me  to  gushes  of  mournful  remembrance. 
The  plants — the  petrified  tree — the  little  cistern  for  water- 
plants — the  rain-gauge — all  abandoned  by  the  hand  which  had 
placed  them  there,  and  took  such  delight  in  tending  them.  I 
could  even  fancy  the  dog  to  have  a  certain  melancholy  air  from 
the  want  of  customary  attentions.  I  this  day  visited  the 
grave,  exposed  to  full  sunshine.  I  have  never  felt  any  be- 
reavement so  much." 

The  succeeding  summer  vacation  Dr.  Chalmers  spent,  with 
little  exception,  in  the  quiet  of  a  country  retirement,  at  Peni- 
cuik. And  from  the  routine  of  professorial  duties  he  withdrew 
during  the  winter  holidays  of  1829-30  to  St.  Andrew's,  where 
it  was  most  gratifying  to  find  that  the  asperity  of  feeling  which 
had  existed  toward  himself  was  entirely  done  away.  The  in- 
tercourse of  those  few  days  was  unproductive  of  anything  to 
mar  the  pure  delight  associated  with  the  beloved  scenes  of  his 
youth. 

The  Church  of  Scotland  was  that  winter  greatly  embarrassed 
by  the  errors  and  wild  fancies  of  some  of  her  members. 
Thomas  Erskine,  Esq.,  of  Linlathen,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell, of  Row,  had  both  presented  views  of  the  atonement  natu- 
rally leading  to  the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation  ;  and  Mr. 
Irving  had  begun  to  promulgate  those  strange  delusions  which 
threw  so  deep  a  shade  over  the  latter  part   of  his  otherwise 


^T.  49.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  221 

illustrious  career.  The  miraculous  gift  of  tongues,  which  those 
men  united  in  defending  as  real,  created  then  quite  as  great  a 
sensation  as  the  spirit-rappings  and  revelations  of  later  times. 
The  respectability  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  ap- 
peared, was,  however,  greatly  superior.  The  persons  now 
mentioned  had,  for  sometime  previous,  held  that  the  miracu- 
lous gifts  of  Pentecost  were  no  longer  conferred  only  on  account 
of  the  feebleness  of  modern  faith,  and  had  made  it  a  subject 
of  prayer  that  the  faith  of  Christians  might  be  increased  until 
it  should  be  consistent  with  God's  will  to  send  down  such  a  sign 
of  his  favor.  *'  At  last  the  startling  announcement  reached 
the  public  ear,  that  the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost had  reappeared.  On  a  Sabbath  evening  in  the  end  of 
March,  Mary  Campbell  was  lying  on  a  bed  of  weakness,  and 
what  seemed  likely  to  prove  a  bed  of  death.  Her  sister,  a 
female  friend,  and  one  or  two  of  the  household,  were  engaged 
along  with  her  in  prayer,  when  suddenly  she  was  visited  by  a 
mysterious  impulse,  and  with  almost  superhuman  strength  and 
in  a  loud  exalted  tone,  she  poured  forth  in  some  unknown 
tongue,  '  a  volume  of  majestic  sound.'  Occasionally,  in  mo- 
ments of  inspiration,  seizing  pen  or  pencil,  and  writing  with 
lightning  speed,  she  covered  scraps  of  paper  with  strange  char- 
acters, said  to  be  of  an  unknown  language.  Not  long  after,  at 
a  prayer-meeting  in  Port- Glasgow,  the  same  pretended  gift  of 
tongues  was  exercised  by  a  person  named  M'Donald,  and  there 
as  elsewhere,  miraculous  cures  were  alleged  to  have  been 
wrought." 

Both  Mr.  Erskine  and  Mr.  Irving  declared  publicly  their 
conviction  of  the  reality  of  those  utterances  as  the  work  of  in- 
spiration. 

In  the  controversies  which  ensued.  Dr.  Chalmers  took  no 
part ;  but  spoke  always  with  the  kindest  consideration  of  the 
gentlemen  principally  concerned.  Regarding  the  gift  of 
tongues,  he  took  the  most  effectual  method,  by  obtaining  one 
of  Mary  Campbell's  written  revelations,  and  subjecting  it  to 
the  investigation  of  skillful  linguists.  One  of  these  he 
took  with   him   on   a  journey  to   England,   for   the  purpose 


LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1829. 

of  having  it  examined  by  some  of  the  Oriental  scholars 
of  the  metropolis.  The  result  was,  what,  doubtless,  he  ex- 
pected, a  distinct  verdict  that  the  pretended  tongue  was  an 
unmeaning  jargon,  and  the  w^hole  affair  an  imposition.  The 
journey  to  London  alluded  to,  was  undertaken  at  the  solicita- 
tion of  Mr.  Spring  Rice,  as  chairman  of  a  committee  of  Par- 
liament, on  the  condition  of  the  Irish  poor.  The  opportunity 
which  an  appearance  before  that  committee  aflforded  for  an 
exposition  of  his  views  on  the  subject  of  pauperism,  was  such 
as  Dr.  Chalmers  could  not  suffer  to  pass  unimproved.  The 
examination  to  which  he  there  submitted,  drew  forth,  in  the 
plainest  and  most  direct  manner,  views  which,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  what  has  since  befallen  Ireland,  are  possessed 
of  too  much  interest  to  admit  of  much  abridgment.  After 
stating  his  objections  to  poor-laws  in  general,  and  his  own 
experience  on  the  subject  in  Glasgow,  and  replying  to  some 
preliminary  questions  respecting  the  application  of  his  princi- 
ples to  Ireland,  the  examination  proceeded  as  follows  : 

"  In  what  respect  do  you  consider  the  assessment  principle 
would  be  productive  of  evil  under  such  circumstances  ?" — "  I 
think  it  would  just  add  to  the  recklessness  and  improvidence 
of  the  people,  and  so  land  the  country  in  a  still  greater  popu- 
lation without  increased  means  of  maintaining  them.  If  I 
may  be  permitted,  I  will  advert  to  a  principle  which  I  think 
may  be  called  the  pervading  fallacy  in  the  speculations  of  those 
who  advocate  the  establishment  of  a  poor-rate  in  Ireland,  and 
is  founded  on  the  observation  of  a  connection  between  a  high 
state  of  character  and  a  high  state  of  economic  comfort.  It  is 
quite  palpable  that  so  it  is  in  fact ;  but  there  seems  to  be  an 
important  mistake  in  the  order  of  causation.  It  is  often  con- 
ceived that  comfort  is  the  cause  and  character  is  the  effect ; 
now  I  hold  that  character  is  the  cause  and  that  comfort  is  the 
effect.  It  does  not  appear  that  if  you  lay  hold  of  a  man  thirty 
or  forty  years  old,  with  his  inveterate  habits,  and  improve  his 
economic  condition,  by  giving  him,  through  a  poor-rate  or  oth- 
erwise, £9  or  £4  a  year  more,  it  does  not  appear  to  me  that 
this  man  will  be  translated  thereby  into  other  habits  or  higher 


^T.    50.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS. 

tastes,  but  he  will  dissipate  it  generally  in  the  same  reckless 
and  sordid  kind  of  indulgence  to  which  he  had  been  previously 
accustomed  ;  whereas  if,  instead  of  taking  hold  of  the  man 
and  attempting  to  elevate  him  by  the  improvement  of  his 
economic  condition,  you  take  hold  of  the  boy,  and  attempt  to 
infuse  into  him  the  other  element,  which  I  conceive  to  be  the 
causal  one,  by  means  of  education,  then  you  will,  through  the 
medium  of  character,  work  out  an  improvement  in  his  economic 
condition.  What  I  should  advise  is,  that  education  be  made 
universal  in  Ireland,  and  that  you  should  weather  for  a  season 
the  annoyance  of  Ireland's  mendicity,  and  the  annoyance  of 
that  pressure  which  I  conceive  to  be  altogether  temporary. 
This  appears  to  me  the  only  principle  upon  which  Ireland  can 
be  securely  and  effectually  brought  to  a  higher  standard  of 
enjoyment,  and  into  the  state  of  a  well-habited  and  well-con- 
ditioned peasantry.  I  think  that  if  patiently  waited  for,  very 
great  results  might  be  looked  for  ere  another  generation  pass 
away  ;  but  then  the  establishment  of  a  poor-law  would  throv>^ 
a  very  heavy  obstruction  indeed  on  that  educational  process,  to 
which  alone  I  look  for  a  permanent  improvement  in  the  state 
of  Ireland." 

"  You  have  stated  that  you  conceive  the  tendency  of  the 
principle  of  assessment  would  be  to  increase  population,  and 
to  create  or  to  increase  habits  of  improvidence  and  inconsider- 
ate marriages  ;  now,  if  it  is  shown  that  in  Ireland  the  popula- 
tion has  increased  more  rapidly,  and  that  greater  improvidence 
exists  than  in  Britain,  how  would  you  reconcile  those  two 
statements,  your  statement  of  principle,  and  this  statement  of 
facts  ?" — "  I  am  quite  sensible  of  the  eff'ect  which  this  com- 
plication of  the  problem  has  had  in  casting  what  may  be  called 
a  general  obscuration  over  it.  If  the  only  element  upon  which 
the  standard  of  enjoyment  depended  was  a  poor-rate,  and  if  in 
point  of  fact  we  saw  in  a  country  where  a  poor-rate  was  estab- 
lished, a  much  higher  standard  of  enjoyment  than  in  a  coun- 
try where  there  was  no  poor-rate,  the  inference  would  be  a 
very  fair  one — establish  the  poor-rate  there,  and  we  shall  bring 
the  people  up  to  a  higher  standard.     But  the  whole  matter  is 


224  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1880. 

mixed  and  complicated  with  other  influences  ;  there  are  otlier 
elements  than  the  poor-rate  which  enter  into  the  question  of  a 
nation's  prosperity,  and  have  a  deciding  influence  on  the  taste 
and  condition  of  the  people.  The  low  standard  of  enjoyment 
in  Ireland  is  attributable  not  to  the  want  of  a  poor-rate,  but 
to  other  causes — to  misgovernment  and  to  imperfect  education. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  a  gradual  elevation  of  the 
people  of  England,  keeping  pace  with  its  commerce,  its  growth 
in  general  opulence,  its  pure  administration  of  justice.  The 
better  condition  of  its  people  is  no  more  due  to  its  poor-rate, 
than  it  is  to  its  national  debt.  Its  high  standard  of  enjoyment 
is  not  in  consequence  of  its  poor-rate,  but  in  spite  of  its  poor- 
rate.  I  believe  that  had  there  been  no  poor-rate  in  England, 
there  would  have  been  a  higher  standard  of  enjoyment  than 
there  is  now  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  if  there  had  been 
a  poor-rate  in  Ireland,  there  would  have  been  a  lower  standard 
of  enjoyment  there  than  there  is  at  present.  In  a  word,  had 
the  condition  of  the  two  countries,  with  reference  to  the  single 
circumstance  of  a  poor-rate,  been  reversed,  there  would  have 
been  a  still  wider  difference  between  them  in  favor  of  England 
and  against  Ireland,  than  there  is  at  this  moment." 

"  You  conceive  that  if  you  were  to  add  to  the  causes  which 
have  tended  to  increase  rapidly  the  population  of  Ireland  and 
to  produce  improvidence  and  recklessness  on  the  part  of  the 
people,  an  additional  cause  tending  in  the  same  direction, 
namely,  the  establishment  of  a  poor-rate,  j^ou  conceive  the 
evils  already  existing  would  be  very  much  augmented  ?" — 
*'  They  would.  If  it  is  intended  to  introduce  the  system  of 
poor-rate  into  Ireland  with  a  view  of  elevating  the  standard  of 
enjoyment,  or  elevating  the  general  condition  of  the  families  of 
Ireland,  this  is  an  aim  far  diff"erent  from  the  ordinary  purpose 
of  a  poor-rate.  The  aim  of  the  present  system  of  poor-rate  is 
to  rescue  a  fraction  of  the  people  from  extreme  wretchedness  ; 
but  should  it  aim  at  the  still  more  magnificent  object  of  raising 
the  general  population  above  the  level  and  the  rate  of  its  pre- 
sent enjoyments,  the  very  expense  of  such  an  achievement,  ex- 
tending to  a  million  families  in  Ireland,  would  seem  to  fasten 


MT.    50.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  225 

upon  the  scheme  the  charge  of  being  utterly  impracticable,  be- 
side utterly  failing  in  its  object,  for  that  is  really  not  the  way 
of  raising  a  people  to  higher  tastes  and  habits  of  enjoyment." 

"Do  you  not  consider  that  the  improvidence  of  the  people, 
and  their  recklessness  in  consequence  of  the  increase  of  their 
numbers,  will  be  found  in  a  direct  proportion  to  their  misery 
and  degradation,  provided  the  misery  is  not  of  that  cast  which 
immediately  affects  human  life?" — '*  I  think  that  the  causal 
and  antecedent  influence  in  the  whole  matter  is  a  moral  one. 
The  people  are  in  an  uneducated  state,  with  perhaps  no  great 
infusion  of  Christian  principle  in  their  minds  ;  it  is  this  which 
produces  misery  and  a  low  economic  condition,  and  if  brought 
out  of  this  by  direct  educational  means,  it  will  operate  favor- 
ably upon  their  providential  habits  so  as  to  restrain  the  ten- 
dency of  the  country  to  over-population." 

"Are  you  of  opinion  that  a  measure  of  colonization  upon  an 
extended  scale,  applied  as  a  national  effort  to  the  pauperism 
of  the  United  Kingdom,  especially  of  Ireland,  would  be  a  be- 
neficial measure,  facilitating  the  introdxiction  of  amended  laws, 
and  of  a  more  judicious  management  of  the  poor,  and  if  blend- 
ed with  a  judicious  education,  would  produce  improved  habits 
of  thinking  on  the  part  of  the  lower  classes,  especially  the 
younger  portions  of  them  ?" — "I  think  it  would  be  beneficial ; 
but  I  do  not  think  that  the  application  of  the  general  cure 
should  wait  for  the  scheme  of  colonization,  though  I  think  that 
such  a  scheme  might  operate  as  an  auxiliary  to  the  cure.  In 
this  view,  a  scheme  of  colonization  might  be  very  useful." 

The  following  extracts  from  Dr.  Chalmers's  examination  in 
reference  to  the  report  of  a  committee  on  the  education  of  the 
lower  orders,  are  also  too  important  to  be  omitted,  presenting, 
as  they  do,  his  opinion  of  the  place  which  the  Bible  should 
occupy  in  education,  while  proving  the  breadth  of  his  own 
liberality : 

"What  observations  would  you  make  to  the  Committee 
upon  the  principles  laid  down  in  that  Report,  which,  while  it 
connects  religious  instruction  essentially  with  the  principles  of 
national  education,  in  order  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  a  mixed 


226  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS. 


ISSO. 


community,  leaves  that  religious  instruction  which  is  rendered 
absolutely  necessary,  under  the  supervision  of  the  respective 
ministers  of  the  various  denominations  ?" — "My  approbation 
of  the  leading  principle  in  that  report  depends  upon  the  con- 
struction which  is  given  to  it.  *  Resolved,  That  this  Com- 
mittee, with  reference  to  the  opinions  above  recorded,  consider 
that  no  system  of  education  can  be  expedient  which  may  be 
calculated  to  influence  or  disturb  the  peculiar  tenets  of  any 
sect  or  denomination  of  Christians.'  If  it  be  meant  by  this 
clause  that  there  shall  be  no  compulsion  on  Catholics  to  attend 
the  Scriptural  class,  I  quite  agree  with  it  ;  but  if  it  be  meant 
by  this  clause  that  in  deference  to  any  principle  or  inclination 
of  theirs  there  shall  be  no  Scriptural  class  open  to  the  demand 
of  every  parent  who  may  choose  that  his  children  may  attend 
it,  to  that  I  would  not  agree,  and  on  this  matter  I  would  hold  no 
negotiation  with  any  party  whatever  ;  but  substituting  a  school 
on  what  I  judge  to  be  the  best  constitution  for  one,  I  would 
hold  it  forth  to  the  free  choice  of  all  the  parochial  families,  and 
I  think  that  a  Scriptural  class  should  be  the  integrant  and  in- 
dispensable part  of  every  such  school." 

"Are  the  Committee  then  to  understand  that  you  consider 
the  system  of  education  would  be  incomplete  without  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Scriptural  class  in  each  school,  but  that  you  con- 
sider it  would  be  inexpedient  to  render  the  attendance  upon 
such  Scriptural  class  compulsory  upon  the  parties  ?" — "  I  would 
not  have  any  part  of  the  education  given  at  the  parish  school 
made  compulsory  ;  they  .should  no  more  be  compelled  to  attend 
the  Bible  class  than  to  attend  the  reading  or  arithmetic  class, 
and  the  Bible  would  of  course  fall  to  be  read  by  the  more 
advanced  scholars.  I  can  not  answer  for  what  the  Catholics 
will  do,  though  I  have  a  very  strong  opinion  upon  what  they 
ought  to  do.  If  they  do  not  attend  the  Scriptural  reading  that 
is  going  on  in  a  school  so  constituted,  then  I  think  the  districts 
which  they  occupy  should  be  laid  open  to  the  influence  of  all 
that  general  religious  activity  that  is  now  expatiating  freely 
over  the  length  and  the  breadth  of  Ireland.  My  idea  of  the 
perfection  of  an  ecclesiastical  system  lies  in  this,  that  in  the  first 


iET  50.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  227 

instance  there  should  be  an  establishment,  but  that  establish- 
ment constantly  operated  upon,  stimulated  and  kept  on  the 
alert  by  the  zeal  and  activity  of  an  energetic,  active,  and  un- 
constrained dissenterism  ;  and  I  have  a  parallel  idea  to  this  in 
reference  to  a  scholastic  system,  that  there  should  be  an  appa- 
ratus of  stationary  schools,  but  if  those  stationary  schools  are 
not  working  the  effect  which  is  desirable,  and  which  effect  is, 
that  the  whole  young  population  of  the  country  should  be  leav- 
ened with  Scriptural  knowledge,  then  I  say  that  with  reference 
to  those  districts  of  country  where  this  deficiency  prevails,  there 
should  be  free  scope  and  encouragement  given  to  the  same  sort 
of  active  and  zealous  exertion  on  the  part  of  religious  philan- 
thropists, whether  acting  individually  or  in  societies,  and  that 
in  all  such  places  there  should  be  full  and  free  encouragement 
given  to  the  talents,  and  the  energy,  and  the  competition  of 
private  adventurers." 

"  By  a  Scriptural  class,  do  you  mean  a  class  meeting  on 
ordinary  school-days,  and  at  ordinary  school-hours,  or  would 
you  apply  that  denomination  to  a  class  which  met  on  special 
days  fixed  for  that  purpose?" — "  I  would  greatly  prefer  that  the 
Scriptural  class  should  be  taught  every  day  of  the  week  ;  I 
should  consider  it  very  defective  to  confine  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures  to  one  or  two  days  of  the  week." 

''But  whether  upon  one  or  more  days  of  the  week,  or  every 
day,  do  you  still  think  that  no  compulsion  ought  to  be  used, 
and  no  regulation  enforced  by  authority  to  render  the  atten- 
dance upon  that  class  a  sine  qua  non?  " — "Certainly  not." 

"  Had  you  at  Glasgow  any  portion  of  your  parishioners  in  St. 
John's  of  a  religion  differing  from  the  Estabhshed  Church  of 
Scotland?" — "A  good  many  ;  it  was  one  of  those  parishes  in 
which,  from  the  population  having  outstripped  the  established 
means  for  their  instruction,  there  were  very  few  indeed  who 
belonged  to  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland." 

"  Were  there  any  Roman  Catholics?" — "  A  good  many  Ro- 
man Catholics." 

"  Were  any  of  those  Roman  Catholics  in  the  progress  of  edu- 
cation within  your  view?" — "  There  happened  to  be  one  school 


LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1830. 

very  numerously  attended,  to  the  extent  of  300  scholars,  with- 
in the  limits  of  the  parish  of  St.  John's  ;  it  was  a  school  which, 
along  with  two  others,  was  supported  by  the  Catholic  School 
Association  that  was  foimed  in  Glasgow,  and  we  made  what 
we  thought  a  very  good  compromise  with  the  Catholic  clergy- 
man ;  he  consented  to  the  use  of  the  Bible,  according  to  the 
authorized  version,  as  a  school-book,  we  consenting  to  have 
Catholic  teachers,  and  upon  that  footing  the  education  went 
on,  and  went  on  I  believe  most  prosperously,  and  with  very 
good  effect.  From  the  mere  delight  I  had  in  witnessing  the 
display  and  the  exercise  of  native  talent  among  the  young 
Irish,  I  frequently  visited  that  school,  and  I  was  uniformly 
received  with  the  utmost  welcome  and  respect  by  the  school- 
master. I  remember,  upon  one  occasion,  when  I  took  some 
ladies  with  me,  and  we  were  present  at  the  examination  of  the 
school  for  about  two  hours,  he  requested,  at  the  end  of  the  ex- 
amination, that  I  would  address  the  children.  I  felt  a  kind  of 
momentary  embarrassment  at  the  proposal  ;  I  was  resolved, 
however,  to  address  them  as  I  Avould  any  Protestant  children, 
and  accordingly  did  address  them,  for  perhaps  a  quarter  or 
nearly  half  an  hour,  urging  upon  them  that  Scripture  was  the 
alone  rule  of  faith  and  manners,  and  other  wholesome  Protes- 
tant principles.  The  schoolmaster,  so  far  from  taking  the 
slightest  ofifense,  turned  round  and  thanked  me  most  cordially 
for  the  address  I  had  given." 

"  That  schoolmaster  being  a  Roman  Catholic?" — "  That 
schoolmaster  being  a  Roman  Catholic  ;  it  really  convinced  me 
that  a  vast  deal  might  be  done  by  kindness,  and  by  discreet 
and  friendly  personal  intercourse  with  the  Roman  Catholics. 
I  may  also  observ^e,  that  whereas  it  has  been  alleged  that  under 
the  superintendence  of  a  Catholic  teacher  there  might  be  a 
danger  of  only  certain  passages  of  Scripture  being  read,  to  the 
exclusion  of  others,  as  far  as  my  observations  extended,  he 
read  quite  indiscriminately  and  impartially  over  Scripture  ;  I 
recollect  that  day  in  particular,  I  found  him  engaged  with  the 
first  chapter  of  John." 

"Did  you  meet  with  any  contradiction  on  the  part  of  the 


iET.    50  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  229 

Roman  Catholic  clergy  of  Glasgow?" — "  Not  in  the  least,  for 
the  clergyman  was  a  party  in  the  negotiation  ;  he  attended  our 
meetings,  and  there  was  a  mutual  understanding  between  the 
clergyman  and  the  members  of  the  committee  :  nay,  a  good 
many  members  of  the  committee  were  themselves  Roman 
Catholics  ;  and  I  remember  when  I  was  asked  to  preach  for 
the  Roman  Catholic  School  Society,  the  committee  came  and 
thanked  me  for  my  exertions  and  more  particularly  the 
Roman  Catholic  members  of  that  committee,  who  were  present 
at  the  sermon." 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Dr.  Chalmers  ever  regretted 
the  liberality  of  his  sentiments,  but  he  lived  long  enough  to  see 
that  his  expectations  here  expressed  were  unfounded — to  have 
abundant  evidence  of  a  kind  which  has  been  rapidly  accumu- 
lating since  his  death,  that  no  liberality  on  the  part  of  others, 
that  no  kindliness  of  personal  intercourse  with  its  subjects, 
any  more  than  its  own  professions,  can  divest  Popery  of  its 
inherent  intolerance. 

Dr.  Chalmers  availed  himself  of  his  presence  in  London  to 
enjoy  another  conversation  with  Coleridge,  of  which  we  have 
only  a  brief  indirect  summary.  The  poet-philosopher,  as 
usual,  took  the  reins  of  discourse  in  his  own  hands.  "  He 
began — in  answer  to  the  common  inquiries  as  to  his  health — 
by  telling  of  a  fit  of  insensibility  in  which,  three  weeks  before, 
he  had  lain  for  thirty-five  minutes.  As  sensibility  returned, 
and  before  he  had  opened  his  eyes,  he  uttered  a  sentence  about 
the  fugacious  nature  of  consciousness,  from  which  he  passed  to 
a  discussion  of  the  singular  relations  between  the  soul  and  the 
body.  Asking  for  Mr.  Irving,  but  waiting  for  no  reply,  he  poured 
out  an  eloquent  tribute  of  his  regard — mourning  pathetically 
that  such  a  man  should  be  so  throwing  himself  away.  Mr. 
Irving's  book  on  the  'Human  Nature  of  Christ,'  in  its  analysis, 
was  minute  to  absurdity  ;  one  would  imagine  that  the  pickling 
and  preserving  were  to  follow,  it  was  so  like  a  cookery-book. 
Unfolding  then  his  own  scheme  of  the  Apocalypse — talking  of 
the  mighty  contrast  between  its  Christ  and  the  Christ  of  the 
gospel  narrative,  Mr.  Coleridge  said  that  Jesus  did  not  come 


230  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1830. 

now  as  before — meek  and  gentle,  healing  the  sick,  and  feeding 
the  hungry,  and  dispensing  blessings  all  around,  but  he  came 
on  a  white  horse  ;  and  who  were  his  attendants  ?  —  famine, 
and  war,  and  pestilence." 

Of  another  conversation,  occurring  that  same  day,  a  fuller 
account  has  been  preserved  by  the  rapid  pen  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Gur- 
ney,  wlio  was  one  of  the  company,  embracing  also  Dr.  Sum- 
ner, Bishop  of  Chester,  Dr.  Lushington,  Mr.  Buxton,  and  Mrs. 
Fry,  with  whom  Dr.  Chalmers  dined  at  Mr.  Hoare's.  "  The 
conversation  during  dinner,  turned  to  the  subject  of  capital 
punishments.  Lushington,  in  the  warmest  terms,  expressed 
his  abhorrence  of  the  system,  and  declared  his  opinion,  that 
the  poor  criminal  was  thus  hurried  out  of  life  and  into  eternity, 
by  means  of  the  perpetration  of  another  crime,  far  greater,  for 
the  most  part,  than  any  which  the  sufferer  himself  had  com- 
mitted. He  even  indicated  a  feeling  that  the  worse  the  crim- 
inal, the  more  improper  such  a  punishment.  Buxton  rallied 
him,  and  restated  his  argument  with  great  pleasantry  :  *  The 
Dr.  assures  us,  that  if  your  lordship  was  condemned  to  the 
gallows,  or  you,  Dr.  Chalmers,  were  about  to  suffer  the  ulti- 
mum  supioUcium,  he  would  be  the  last  man  to  prevent  the  exe- 
cution of  the  law,  or  prevent  the  translation  of  the  virtuous  to 
a  happier  state  ;  but  to  terminate  the  probationary  existence 
of  the  most  degraded  of  our  race — the  worst  of  robbers,  or  the 
most  outrageous  of  murderers — was  opposed  at  once  to  all  the 
feelings  of  humanity,  and  to  all  the  principles  of  religion.' 
After  all,  however,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  Dr.  Lush- 
ington's  statement,  and  substantially  we  are  all  agreed." 

**  After  dinner  a  brisk  discussion  arose  respecting  the  com- 
parative religious  condition  of  the  Long  Parliament,  and  of  our 
representatives  in  the  present  day  of  latitudinarianism  and 
laxity.  Lushington  contended  that  the  advantage  lay  on  the 
side  of  our  modern  senate,  and  that  the  looseness  of  the  pres- 
ent was  a  less  crying  evil  than  the  hypocrisy  of  past  times. 
The  bishop  and  Chalmers  took  the  other  side,  and  not  only 
demonstrated  the  religious  superiority  of  the  Puritans,  but 
strongly  insisted   on  the  great  principle,  that  it  is    godliness 


^T.  50.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  231 

which  exalteth  a  nation,  and  which  can  alone  impart  true 
strength  and  stability  to  human  governments.  Chalmers 
stated  the  points  of  the  argument  with  great  strength  and 
clearness,  and  the  bishop  confirmed  what  he  said.  In  the 
evening  Joanna  Baillie  joined  our  party,  and  after  the  bishop 
and  others  were  gone,  we  formed  a  sociable  circle,  of  which 
Chalmers  was  the  center.  The  evidences  of  Christianity  be- 
came again  the  topic  of  conversation.  I  rather  think  the  har- 
mony of  Scripture,  and  the  accordance  and  correspondence  of 
one  part  with  another  were  adverted  to.  This  evidence  of 
accordance  is  one  to  which  Dr.  C.'s  mind  is  obviously  much 
alive.  He  knows  how  to  trace  in  the  adaptation  between  one 
branch  of  truth  and  another,  and  especially  between  God's  reli- 
gion and  man's  experience,  the  master-hand  of  perfect  wisdom 
and  goodness. 

"  Chal.  '  The  historical  evidences  of  Christianity  are 
abundantly  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  scrutinizing  researches  of 
the  learned,  and  are  within  the  reach  of  all  well  educated  per- 
sons. But  the  internal  evidence  of  the  Truth  lies  within  the 
grasp  of  every  sincere  inquirer.  Every  man  who  reads  his 
Bible,  and  compares  what  it  says  of  mankind  with  the  records 
of  his  own  experience — every  man  who  marks  the  adaptation 
of  its  mighty  system  of  doctrine  to  his  own  spiritual  need  as 
a  sinner  in  the  sight  of  God,  is  furnished  with  practical  proof  of 
the  divine  origin  of  our  religion.  I  love  this  evidence.  It  is 
what  I  call  iha  'jj  or  table  evidence  of  Christianity.' 

"  On  the  following  morning  he  read  the  Scriptures  to  the 
family  circle,  and  selected  the  latter  half  of  John,  xiv.  The 
verse  which  peculiarly  attracted  his  attention  was  verse  21  : — 
*  He  that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is 
that  loveth  me  :  and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of 
my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself 
to  him.' 

"When  our  conversation  was  concluded,  my  brother,  Sam- 
uel Hoare,  took  me  with  him  on  the  box  of  his  chariot,  and 
drove  Dr.  Chalmers  and  his  highly  pleasing  wife,  to  Wilber- 


232  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1S30. 

force's,  at  Highwood  Hall,  beyond  Hendon.  Dr.  C.  and  his 
lady  were  engaged  to  stay  some  days  there,  and  we  were  glad 
of  the  opportunity  of  enjoying  the  company  of  the  senator  em- 
eritus, together  with  that  of  Dr.  C,  for  a  few  hours.  Our  morn- 
ing passed  delightfully.  Chalmers  was  indeed  comparatively 
silent,  as  he  often  is,  when  many  persons  are  collected,  and  the 
stream  of  conversation  flowed  between  ourselves  and  the  ever 
lively  Wilberforce.  I  have  seldom  observed  a  more  amusing 
and  pleasing  contrast  between  two  great  men  than  between 
Wilberforce  and  Chalmers.  Chalmers  is  stout  and  erect,  with 
a  broad  countenance  —  Wilberforce  minute,  and  singularly 
twisted  :  Chalmers,  both  in  body  and  mind,  moves  with  a  de- 
liberate step — Wilberforce,  infirm  as  he  is  in  his  advanced 
years,  flies  about  with  astonishing  activity,  and  while,  with 
nimble  finger,  he  seizes  on  everything  that  adorns  or  diversi- 
fies his  path,  his  mind  flits  from  object  to  object  with  unceas- 
ing versatility.  I  often  think  that  particular  men  bear  about 
with  them  an  analogy  to  particular  animals  :  Chalmers  is  like 
a  good-tempered  lion — Wilberforce  is  like  a  bee  :  Chalmers 
can  say  a  pleasant  thing  now  and  then,  and  laugh  when  he  has 
said  it,  and  he  has  a  strong  touch  of  humor  in  his  countenance, 
but  in  general  he  is  grave  ;  his  thoughts  grow  to  a  great  size 
before  they  are  uttered — Wilberforce  sparkles  with  life  and 
wit,  and  the  characteristic  of  his  mind  is  '  rapid  productive- 
ness.' A  man  might  be  in  Chalmers's  company  for  an  hour, 
especially  in  a  party,  without  knowing  who  or  what  he  was — 
though  in  the  end  he  would  be  sure  to  be  detected  by  some 
unexpected  display  of  powerful  originality.  Wilberforce,  ex- 
cept when  fairly  asleep,  is  never  latent.  Chalmers  knows  how 
to  vail  himself  in  a  decent  cloud — Wilberforce  is  always  in 
sunshine.  Seldom,  I  believe,  has  any  mind  been  been  more 
strung  to  a  perpetual  tune  of  love  and  praise.  Yet  these  per- 
sons, distinguished  as  they  are  from  the  world  at  large,  and 
from  each  other,  present  some  admirable  points  of  resemblance. 
Both  of  them  are  broad  thinkers,  and  liberal  feelers  :  both  of 
them  are  arrayed  in  humility,  meekness,  and  charity  :  both 


^T.  50.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  233 

appear  to  hold  self  in  little  reputation  :  above  all,  both  love 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  reverently  acknowledge  him  to  be 
their  only  Saviour." 

The  respectful  kindness  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  manifested 
toward  Dr.  Chalmers  in  procuring  for  him  an  appointment  as 
one  of  His  Majesty's  chaplains  in  ordinary  in  Scotland. 

With  the  view  of  enjoying  a  few  days'  intercourse  with  Mr. 
Hall  and  Mr.  Foster,  Dr.  Chalmers  consented  to  open  for  pub- 
lic worship,  an  independent  chapel  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Bristol ;  after  which  he  turned  his  face  northward,  and  on  the 
10th  of  July  was  again  in  Edinburgh.  A  few  weeks  later,  his 
kind  attentions  to  Mr.  Gurney,  confined  by  sickness  in  his 
neighborhood,  gave  occasion  to  another  series  of  valuable 
reminiscences.  "  I  have  found  his  visits,"  writes  Mr.  Gurney, 
**  hke  two  things  of  which  I  have  lately  experienced  the  vast 
importance — a  tonic  for  the  faint,  and  a  crutch  for  the  lame. 
The  new  revolution  in  France,  and  the  commotions  which  have 
since  taken  place  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  have,  of  course, 
been  the  subject  of  daily  thought,  meditation,  and  converse. 
*  I  think,'  said  Dr.  Chalmers,  'the  Scriptures  afford  us  good 
reason  to  believe  that  the  ultimate  diffusion  of  pure  Christianity 
in  the  world  must  be  preceded  by  commotion,  and  confusion, 
and  distress  of  nations.  Look  at  the  new  French  revolution — 
there  is  much  that  one  approves  at  present  both  in  its  tendency 
and  its  results.  But  you  see  it  has  been  effected  by  the  growth 
of  merely  human  intelligence — by  the  working  of  the  unregen- 
erate  mind  without  a  particle  of  christian  principle.  It  is  just 
the  striving  of  the  natural  wisdom  and  the  pride  of  man  after 
that  which  we  are  apt  to  conceive  to  be  the  consummation  of 
our  happiness — a  condition  of  independence.  I  am  not  one  of 
those  who  underrate  the  value  of  civil  and  political  liberty  ; 
but  I  am  well  assured  that  it  is  only  the  principles  of  Christi- 
anity which  can  impart  true  security,  prosperity,  and  happiness, 
either  to  individuals  or  to  nations.  1  am  prepared  to  expect, 
that  on  the  efforts  which  are  now  making  in  the  world  to  regen- 
erate our  species,  without  religion,  God  will  impress  the  stamp 
of  a  solemn  and  expressive  mockery.^ 
20 


234  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1880. 

**It  is  evident  that  Dr.  Chalmers  is  deeply  impressed  with 
the  opinion  that  an  overwhelming  tide  is  but  too  likely,  ere- 
long, to  sweep  down  many  of  our  civil,  Hterary,  and  religious 
institutions.  The  spirit  which  prevails  abroad  he  apprehends 
to  be  in  somewhat  active  preparation  at  home,  and  he  ascribes 
its  existence  and  increase  to  the  wide  dissemination  of  swper- 
Jicial  knowledge.  Chalmers  is  a  great  advocate  for  religious 
establishments. 

"  Chal.  '  I  like  to  see  the  earth  helping  the  woman.  I  do 
not  plead  very  earnestly  for  any  particular  church,  but  I  would 
have  a  well  formed  machinery  fixed  in  every  country — ducts 
of  irrigation — through  which  the  predominant  religion,  what- 
ever it  is,  may  diffuse  its  streams  of  christian  instruction.  I 
do  not  perceive  that  when  such  a  provision  is  absent,  men  are 
prone  to  supply  the  deficiency  for  themselves  :  and  the  practi- 
cal effect  appears  to  be  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  popula- 
lation  is  left  without  any  religious  instruction  at  all. 

*' '  The  population  in  England  and  Scotland  has  immensely 
outgrown  the  provisions  of  the  two  Establishments — and  what 
becomes  of  the  surplus  ?  They  do  not  provide  themselves 
with  religious  privileges,  but  are  more  than  content  to  continue 
without  them.  I  was  furnished  with  a  picturesque  argument 
for  Establishments,  on  the  top  of  St.  Paul's.  When  I  looked 
eastward  over  the  city  of  London,  I  beheld  it  dotted  with 
spires — for  the  city  was  built  at  a  time  when  the  church  was 
able  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  inhabitants.  But  westward 
the  eye  roams  over  a  comparatively  new  town  and  new  popu- 
lation, and  a  spire  is  hardly  to  be  seen.  On  the  whole,  I  con- 
clude, that  unless  the  law  of  the  land  provides  churches,  and 
a  corresponding  administration  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  in  vain  to 
expect  that  the  people  will  provide  them  for  themselves.' 

"  I  told  Dr.  Chalmers  that  this  was  almost  the  only  subject 
that  I  knew  of,  on  which  I  did  not  sympathize  with  him. 
Nevertheless,  I  fully  unite  in  sincerely  deprecating  the  fall  of 
any  of  our  religious  institutions  by  the  rude  hand  of  anarchy 
and  infidehty.  It  ought  to  be  remarked,  that  Dr.  Chalmers's 
views  on  this  subject  are  connected  in  his  mind,  not  with  a 


MT,  50,  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  235 

bigoted  attachment  to  any  particular  form  of  religion,  but  only 
with  an  earnest  desire  for  the  mcdntenance  of  Christianity  itself. 

"  Chal.  *  The  Scotch  Establishment  has  one  great  advantage 
over  that  of  England.  It  acknowledges  no  temporal  head, 
and  admits  of  no  civil  or  Parliamentary  interference  with  its 
doctrine  and  disciphne.  The  State  helps  to  support  it,  but  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  conduct  of  its  ministrations.  This 
devolves  solely  on  its  Synod.  It  is  not  so  with  the  Church 
of  England  ;  but  I  would  not  demohsh  the  Church  of  England 
on  that  account — I  would  only  restore  to  her  her  own  Convo- 
cation. Were  some  little  poisonous  stream  to  find  its  way  into 
the  sources  of  the  Nile,  by  which  all  the  waters  of  the  river 
were  rendered  insalubrious,  it  would  be  a  foolish  remedy  to 
cut  up  and  destroy  the  dykes  by  which  those  waters  are  con- 
veyed through  all  the  plains  of  Egypt.  Good  sense  would 
dictate — only,  the  stoi:>i')ing  up  of  the  small  polluting  fountain.'' 

''Dr.  Chalmers's  conversations  with  us  have  been  much 
more  frequently  about  things  than  persons  ;  and  indeed  he  has 
too  much  intelligence  and  power  of  mind  to  descend  to  a  species 
of  conversation  commonly  called  gossip — which  is  the  frequent 
refuge  of  many  whose  understandings  are  meagerly  stored  with 
information.  Persons,  however,  who,  from  the  combination  of 
talent  and  oddity,  have  made  a  noise  in  the  world,  must  lay  their 
account  for  being  the  subject  of  conversation  in  all  sorts  of  com- 
panies. Such  a  man  is  Edward  Irving,  who  once  acted  as  an  as- 
sistant preacher  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  the  Tron  church  at  Glasgow. 

"  Chal.  'When  Irving  was  associated  with  me  at  Glasgow 
he  did  not  attract  a  large  congregation,  but  he  completely 
attached  to  himself,  and  to  his  ministry,  a  limited  number  of 
persons,  with  whose  minds  his  own  was  in  affinity.  I  have 
often  observed  this  effect  produced  by  men  whose  habits  of 
thinking  and  feeling  are  peculiar  or  eccentric.  They  possess  a 
magnetic  attraction  for  minds  assimilated  to  their  own." 

"Nevertheless,  I  observed,  eccentricity,  especially  in  people 
of  serious  religion,  is  extremely  undesirable.  I  much  prefer 
those  broad,  intelligible  qualities  which  attract  the  mass  of 
mankind. 


236  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1830 

"  Chal.  'Yes,  truly — after  all,  gravitation  is  much  better 
than  magnetism. 

"  '  I  undertook  to  open  Irving's  new  chapel  in  London.  The 
congregation,  in  their  eagerness  to  obtain  seats,  had  already- 
been  assembled  about  three  hours.  Irving  said  he  would  assist 
me  by  reading  a  chapter  for  me  in  the  first  instance.  He  chose 
the  very  longest  chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  went  on  with  his 
exposition  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  When  my  turn  came,  of 
what  use  could  I  be  in  an  exhausted  receiver?  On  another 
similar  occasion  he  kindly  proffered  me  the  same  aid,  adding, 
"  I  can  be  short."  I  said,  how  long  will  it  take  you?  He 
answered,  "  Only  one  hour  and  forty  minutes."  '  Then,' 
replied  I,   *  I  must  decline  the  favor.' 

*' Craig.  'My  friend,  Mr.  P.,  invited  a  party  to  supper. 
Some  of  his  guests  had  three  miles  to  walk  home  after  the 
meal.  But  before  its  commencement,  Mr.  P.  requested  Irving, 
who  was  one  of  the  party,  to  read  the  Bible  and  expound.  He 
began  and  continued  a  discourse,  which  manifested  not  even 
a  tendency  toward  termination  until  midnight.  The  supper 
was  of  course  either  burnt  up  or  grown  cold.  When  the  clock 
struck  twelve,  Mr.  P.  tremblingly  and  gently  suggested  to  hira 
that  it  might  be  desirable  to  draw  to  a  close.  *•'  Who  art^Aow," 
he  replied,  with  prophetic  energy,  "  who  darest  to  interrupt  the 
man  of  God  in  the  midst  of  his  administration?"  He  pursued 
his  commentary  for  some  time  longer,  then  closed  the  book, 
and,  waivino-  his  lon^c  arm  over  the  head  of  his  host,  uttered  an 
audible  and  deliberate  prayer  that  his  offense  might  be  for- 
given.' 

"  The  last  accounts  which  I  have  heard  from  the  '  West 
Country'  indicate  a  progressive  descent  into  the  absurd  and 
preposterous.  I  was  struck  with  the  simplicity  of  mind  and 
genuine  charitableness  which  Dr.  Chalmers  displayed  in  con- 
versing on  this  subject,  before  its  issue  was  quite  so  apparent 
as  it  is  at  present. 

"  Chal.  *  Were   Erskine  at  home,  I  should  be  very  happy 

*  The  Rev.  Mr.  Craig  of  Edinburgh. 


^T.  60.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  237 

to  bring  you  together.  He  is  a  most  amiable  and  pleasing 
person,  and  one  whose  consistency  of  conduct  proves  the  gen- 
uineness of  his  piety.  It  is  true,  however,  that  his  imagina- 
tion overpowers  his  other  faculties.  He  assures  mc,  that  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  personal  examination  on  the  spot  would 
convince  me  of  the  truth  of  the  West  country  miracles.  In- 
credulous as  I  am  respecting  it,  I  do  not  presume  to  determine 
what  may  or  may  not  be  included  within  the  infinite  variety  of 
Divine  dispensation.     I  just  hold  myself  open  to  evidence.' 

"One  morning,  while  Dr.  Chalmers  was  with  us,  and  was 
speaking  with  great  liberality  of  certain  Christians  who  differ 

from  him  in  sentiment.  Dr. joined  our  party  ;  an  amiable 

and  pious  man,  about  my  own  age,  once  well  known  and  loved 
by  some  members  of  our  family.  Unhappily  he  has  now 
fallen  into  a  religious  system  the  very  opposite  to  Chalmers — 
a  system  of  the  most  rigid  exclusiveness.  So  strangely  is  his 
spiritual  vision  perverted,  that  while  he  condemns  all  denomi- 
nations of  Christians  as  fatally  erring,  he  appears  to  presume 
that  the  true  universal  church  of  Christ  consists  of  himself  and 
a  few  other  individuals,  who,  while  they  reject  the  Sabbath, 
occasionally  meet  together  in  this  place  for  devotional  purposes. 
After  Chalmers  was  gone,  he  began  to  unfold  his  views  to  me, 
which  appear  to  be  simply  these  :  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is 
ONE  ;  and  that  since  he  and  his  friends  were  the  only  persons 
who  exactly  conformed  themselves  to  the  model  of  the  New 
Testament,  they,  and  they  only,  were  that  one  Church.  I  can 
hardly  describe  the  odd  feeling  it  gave  me,  just  after  I  had 
been  expatiating  in  the  broad  fields  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  heart 
and  intellect,  to  be  thus  suddenly  thrust  into  the  narrowest  of 
imaginable  corners.  The  contrast  was  instructive,  and  en- 
hanced my  value  for  that  mighty  stream  of  Divine  love  and 
charity  which  overleaps  all  the  barriers  of  pride  and  prejudice. 
May  I  ever  be  preserved  from  becoming  a  latitudinarian  in 
religion  !  but  while  I  am  deeply  convinced  that  on  no  other 
foundation  can  any  man  stand  with  safety,  but  Jesus  Christ, 
I  never  more  clearly  saw  than  I  do  at  present,  that  this  foun- 
dation has  a  breadth  proportioned  to  its  stability.     Christianity 


LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  IS 30. 

is  a  law  of  liberty.  It  may  be  said  to  teem  with  the  riches  of 
a  divine  liberality.  God  *  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and 
upbraideth  not.'  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  the  breadth  of 
every  system  of  religion,  which  has  Christ  for  its  basis,  is  one 
of  the  best  tests  by  which  we  may  try  its  genuineness  and  its 
truth.     I  afterward  told  Chalmers  what  had  passed  between 

Dr. and  myself.     He  put  on  a  countenance  of  great  good 

humor.  '  It  reminds  me,'  said  he,  '  of  an  elderly  gentleman, 
of  whom  I  once  knew  something,  who  was  fully  persuaded  that 
true  Christianity  was  exclusively  to  be  found  in  himself  and  an 
old  wife.  When  the  old  lady  died  the  universal  church  was 
restricted  to  his  single  person.' 

"  I  mentioned  a  work,  popular  among  the  Unitarians,  which 
solves  all  the  attributes  of  God  into  pure  benevolence — denomi- 
nates sin  *  moral  evil' — ascribes  it  to  the  direct  appointment  of 
God,  and  presumes  to  infer,  that  it  not  only  promotes  the  gen- 
eral good,  but,  taken  in  connection  with  its  corrective  conse- 
quences, in  the  end  enhances  the  happiness  of  the  sinner. 
Hence  it  follows,  that  if  a  man  murders  his  parents,  or  flays 
his  children  alive,  he  will  be  the  better  for  it  in  the  long  run. 

*'  Chal.  '  It  is  a  dangerous  error  to  reduce  the  Divine  attri- 
butes to  the  single  quality  of  goodness.  Our  best  metaphy- 
sicians (especially  Brown)  teach  us,  that  the  ethical  virtues  are 
in  their  nature  unalterably  independent.  Justice  is  an  ethical 
virtue,  distinct  in  its  origin,  character,  and  end,  and  must  not 
be  confounded  with  any  other.  These  principles  apply  to  the 
moral  attributes  of  God.'  Yes,  I  said,  they  are  blended,  but 
not  confused. 

"  Chal.  '  There  is  union  in  them,  but  not  unity.  The  har- 
mony, yet  distinctness,  of  the  Divine  moral  attributes,  is  most 
instructively  inscribed  on  the  atonement  of  Christ.*  Truly,  I 
replied,  that  is  a  point  where  justice  and  benevolence  meet — 
where  God  has  displayed  at  once  His  abhorrence  of  sin,  and 
His  mercy  to  the  sinner. 

"  Chal.  *  Brown  had  very  low  and  inadequate  views  of  the 
character  of  God.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Paley — witness 
his  founding  his  system  of  morals  on  expediency.     This  was 


^T.  50.  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  239 

indeed  a  degradation  in  a  Christian  and  moral  philosopher,  and 
the  more  so,  as  even  a  Cicero  could  declaim  against  *  utilitas' 
as  the  basis  of  morals.'  I  mentioned  an  anecdote  which  I  have 
heard  of  Paley  in  his  last  illness,  which  is  said  to  have  had 
the  authority  of  William  Hey,  the  late  noted  surgeon  at  Leeds, 
and  which,  if  true,  is  remarkably  consoling.  When  not  far 
from  his  end,  Paley,  in  conversing  with  some  of  his  family  or 
friends,  took  a  calm  review  of  his  several  works.  He  expressed 
the  deep  regret  and  dissatisfaction  which  at  that  awful  time 
he  felt  in  the  recollection  of  his  *  Moral  Philosophy.*  He  was 
happy  to  believe  that  his  *  Natural  Theology'  and  *  Evidences 
of  Christianity'  were  sound  and  useful  works  ;  but  the  book  on 
which  his  mind  then  dwelt  with  the  greatest  pleasure  was  his 
'  Horse  Paulinae.' 

"  Chal.  '  I  am  not  surprised  at  this.  It  is  an  admirable 
statement  of  evidence,  and  displays  a  more  masterly  hand  than 
any  of  his  other  works.'  Our  Lord  has  declared,  that  except 
we  are  'converted,  and  become  as  little  children,'  we  shall 
'in  nowise  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  I  have  heard  that 
this  lucid  and  powerful  writer  became  a  little  child,  in  the  best 
sense  of  the  terms,  before  he  died.  I  have  also  heard  it  stated, 
on  what  appeared  to  be  good  authority,  that  had  his  posthu- 
mous sermons  been  chronologically  arranged,  they  would  have 
displayed  a  gradually  progressive  change  from  a  sort  of  semi- 
Pelagianism,  to  a  sound  and  evangelical  view  of  Christianity, 
It  is  delightful  to  be  able  to  ascribe  such  a  man  as  Paley  to  the 
company  of  true  believers  in  a  crucified  Redeemer." 

Again,  in  the  month  of  October,  Dr.  Chalmers  appeared  in 
London  as  one  of  the  deputation  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
to  present  a  congratulatory  address  to  William  lY,  upon  his 
accession  to  the  throne.  The  account  of  his  presentation  to 
the  king,  and  of  the  various  festivities  of  the  occasion,  was 
contained  in  letters  written  for  the  entertainment  of  his  chil- 
dren : — "  London,  October  2Qth,  1830. — My  Dear  Margaret — 
This  is  the  big  and  busy  day.  Got  up  at  seven.  Went  out  to 
order  the  loan  of  a  court  hat,  which  is  promised  me  by  twelve. 
A   general    dressing,    and   anxiety   on   all    hands   to    be    as 


240  LIFE   OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1830 

snod*  as  possible.  A  breakfast,  at  which  all  the  members  of  the 
deputation  were  present ;  Dr.  Singer,  Dr.  Cook,  Dr.  McKnight, 
Dr.  Lee,  myself,  Mr.  Paul,  Mr.  Sinclair,  Sir  John  Connel.  We 
are,  beside,  to  have  Sir  Henry  Jardine,  Mr.  Pringle  of  Yair, 
and  Dr.  SteAvart  of  Erskine,  as  attendants.  A  vast  deal  of 
consultation  anent  our  movements  to  and  from.  We  are  all  on 
edge.  We  have  to  make  three  bows  ;  and  the  question  is, 
whether  we  shall  all  make  tliem  on  moving  toward  the  throne, 
or  after  we  have  spread  ourselves  before  it,  and  there  is  such  a 
want  of  unanimity  and  distinct  understanding  about  it,  that  I 
fear  we  shall  misbehave.  However,  time  will  show,  and  I  now 
lay  down  my  pen  till  it  is  over. 

"We  assembled  in  our  hotel  at  one.  The  greatest  conster- 
nation among  us  about  hats,  which  had  been  promised  at 
twelve,  but  had  not  yet  arrived.  There  were  four  wanting  ; 
and  at  length  only  three  came,  with  the  promise  that  we  should 
get  the  other  when  we  passed  the  shop.  We  went  in  three 
coaches,  and  landed  at  the  palace  entry  about  half-past  one. 
A-scended  the  stair  ;  passed  through  a  magnificent  lobby,  be- 
tween rows  of  glittering  attendants  all  dressed  in  gold  and 
scarlet.  Ushered  into  a  large  anteroom,  full  of  all  sorts  of 
company,  walking  about  and  collecting  there  for  attendance  on 
the  levee :  military  and  naval  officers  in  splendid  uniforms — 
high  legal  gentlemen  with  enormous  wigs — ecclesiastics,  from 
archbishops  to  curates  and  inferior  clergy.  Our  deputation 
made  a  most  respectable  appearance  among  them,  with  our 
cocked  three-cornered  hats  under  our  arms,  our  bands  upon 
our  breasts,  and  our  gowns  of  Geneva  upon  our  backs.  Mine 
did  not  lap  so  close  as  I  would  have  liked,  so  that  I  was  twice 
as  thick  as  I  should  be,  and  it  must  have  been  palpable  to  every 
eye  at  the  first  glance,  that  I  was  the  greatest  man  there — and 
that,  though  I  took  all  care  to  keep  my  coat  unbuttoned,  and 
my  gown  quite  open  :  however,  let  not  mamma  be  alarmed, 
for  I  made  a  most  respectable  appearance,  and  was  treated 
with  the  utmost  attention.     I  saw  the  Archbishop  of  York  in 

*  Anglice,  neat. 


^T.    50.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  241 

the  room,  but  did  not  get  within  speech  of  him.      To  make  up 
for  this,  however,  I  was  introduced  to  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, who  was  very  civil ;  saw  the  Bishop  of  London,  with 
whom  I  had  a  good  deal  of  talk,  and  am  to  dine  on  Friday  ; 
was  made  up  to  by  Admiral  Sir  Philip  Durham  ;  and  was  fur- 
ther introduced,  at  their  request,  to  Sir  John  Leach,  Master  of 
the  Rolls,  to  Lord   Chief  Justice  Tindall,   to  the  Marquis    of 
Bute,    etc.      But   far  the  most  interesting    object  there   was 
Talleyrand — whom  I  could  get  nobody  to  introduce  me  to — 
splendidly   attired   as    the    French   embassador,   attended  by 
some  French  military  officers.      I  gazed  with  interest  on  the 
old  shriveled  face  of  him,  and  thought  I  could  see  there  the 
lines  of  deep  reflection  and  lofty  talent.     His  moral  physiog- 
nomy, however,   is  a  downright  blank.     He  was  by  far  the 
most  important  continental  personage  in  the  room,  and  drew 
all  eyes.     I  was  further  in  conversation  with  Lord  Melville, 
Mr.  Spencer  Percival,  and  Mr.  Henry  Drummond.      The  door 
in   the  middle  apartment  was  at  length  opened  for  us,  when 
we  entered  in  processional  order.      The  Moderator  first,  with 
Drs.  Macknight  and  Cook  on  each  side  of  him  ;  I  and  Dr.  Lee 
side-by-side  followed  ;  Mr.  Paul  and  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  with 
their  swords  and  bags,  formed  the  next  row  ;  then  Sir  John 
Connel  and  Sir  Henry  Jardine  ;  and  last  of  all,  Mr.  Pringle, 
M.  P.,  and  Dr.  Stewart.     We  stopped  in  the  middle  room — 
equally  crowded  with  the  former,  and  alike  splendid  with  mir- 
rors, chandeliers,  pictures,  and  gildings  of  all  sorts  on  the  roof 
and  walls — for  about  ten  minutes,  when  at  leno-th  the  foldino-- 
doors  to  the   grand  state-room  were  thrown  open.     We   all 
made  a  low  bow  on  our  first  entry,  and  the  King,  seated  on  the 
throne  at  the  opposite  end,  took  oS  his  hat,  putting  it  on  again. 
We  marched  up  to  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  made  another 
low   bow,  when  the  King  again  took  ofif   his  hat ;   we  then 
proceeded  tg  the  foot  of   the  throne,  and  all    made  a  third 
low  bow,  on  which  the  King  again   took  ofif  his  hat.     After 
this,  the   Moderator  read  his  address,  which  was  a  little  lonof, 
and  the  King  bowed  repeatedly  while   it  was  reading.     The 
Moderator  then  reached  the  address  to  the   King  upon  the 
21 


242  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1880. 

throne,  who  took  it  from  him  and  gave  it  to  Sir  Robert  Peel  on 
his  left  hand,  who  in  his  turn  gave  the  King  his  written  reply, 
which  he  read  very  well.  After  this,  the  Moderator  went  up 
to  the  stool  before  the  throne,  leaned  his  left  knee  upon  it,  and 
kissed  the  King's  hand.  We  each  in  our  turn  did  the  same 
thing  ;  the  Moderator  naming  every  one  of  us  as  we  advanced ; 
I  went  through  my  kneel  and  my  kiss  very  comfortably.  The 
King  said  something  t5  each  of  us.  His  first  question  to  me 
was,  *  Do  you  reside  constantly  in  Edinburgh  ?'  I  said,  'Yes, 
an't  please  your  Majesty.'  His  next  question  was,  '  How  long 
do  you  remain  in  town  ?'  I  said,  '  Till  Monday,  an't  please 
your  Majesty.*  I  then  descended  the  steps  leading  from  the 
foot  of  the  throne  to  the  floor,  and  fell  into  my  place  in  the 
deputation.  After  we  had  all  been  thus  introduced,  we  began 
to  retire  in  a  body  just  as  we  had  come,  bowing  all  the  way 
with  our  faces  to  the  King,  and  so  moving  backward,  when  the 
King  called  out,  *  Don't  go  away,  gentlemen,  I  shall  leave  the 
throne,  and  the  Queen  will  succeed  me.'  We  stopped  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  when  the  most  beautiful  living  sight  I  ever 
beheld  burst  upon  oui'  delighted  gaze — the  Queen,  with  twelve 
maids  of  honor,  in  a  perfect  spangle  of  gold  and  diamonds, 
entered  the  room.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  go  over  in  detail  the 
particulars  of  their  dresses  ;  only  that  their  lofty  plumes  upon 
their  heads,  and  their  long  sweeping  trains  upon  the  floor,  had 
a  very  magnificent  eff"ect.  She  took  her  seat  on  the  throne, 
and  we  made  the  same  profound  obeisances  as  before,  advanc- 
ing to  the  foot  of  the  steps  that  lead  to  the  footstool  of  the 
throne.  A  short  address  was  read  to  her  as  before  :  and  her 
reply  was  most  beautifully  given,  in  rather  a  tremulous  voice, 
and  just  as  low  as  that  I  could  only  hear  and  no  more.  We 
went  through  the  same  ceremonial  of  advancing  successively 
and  kissing  hands,  and  then  retired  with  three  bows  which  the 
Queen  returned  most  gracefully,  but  with  all  the.simplicity,  I 
had  almost  said  bashfulness,  of  a  timid  country  girl.  She  is 
really  a  very  natural  and  amiable  looking  person.  The  whole 
was  magnificent.  On  each  side  of  the  throne  were  maids  of 
honor,  ofl&cers  of  state,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  a  vast  number  of 


^T.    50.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  243 

military  gentlemen,  and  among  the  rest  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton. My  next  will  be  to  Helen.  God  bless  you,  my  dear 
Margaret. — I  am,  your  affectionate  father, 

**  Thomas  Chalmers." 

*' London,  October  29th,  1830. — My  Dear  Helen  —  I  did 
not  finish  my  description  of  our  interview  with  the  Queen  in 
my  letter  to  Margaret,  for  after  we  left  the  grand  state-room 
we  remained  in  the  middle  room  ;  and  after  us  the  Corporation 
of  Dublin,  a  very  large  body,  went  with  addresses  to  the  King 
and  Queen.  There  were  some  very  magnificent  people  among 
them  ;  and  as  a  great  number  had  to  be  introduced,  it  took  up 
a  lonsr  time,  so  we  had  to  wait  half  an  hour  at  least  in  the 
middle  room  till  the  levee  began,  when  the  two  inner  doors 
between  the  middle  and  great  state-rooms  were  thrown  open. 
The  King,  instead  of  being  upon  the  throne,  now  stood  on  the 
floor.  There  was  an  immense  number  of  people  introduced  to 
him,  going  in  a  very  close  and  lengthened  column  from  the 
outer  room  by  one  corner  door  of  the  great  state-room,  passing 
the  King,  and  retiring  through  an  avenue  of  state  attendants 
by  the  other  corner  door.  I  kissed  his  hand  the  second  time, 
and  was  named  both  by  him  and  Sir  Kobert  Peel.  After  this  we 
remained  in  the  middle  room  a  considerable  time,  and  at  length 
left  the  Palace.  We  had  to  wait  a  long  time  in  the  door  lobby 
till  our  coaches  drew  up  for  us.  The  crowding  and  calling  of 
coaches  had  a  very  animating  eflfect.  We  got  to  our  hotel  at 
four — waited  there  half  an  hour.  Our  coaches  came  for  us 
acrain  to  take  us  to  the  Mansion  House  where  we  were  to  dine 
with  the  Lord  Mayor.  This  is  a  magnificent  house,  and  has  a 
very  noble  dining-room.  The  Lord  Mayor  himself  was  un- 
well, and  could  not  be  with  us.  His  chaplain  did  the  honors 
for  him.  There  were  about  fifty.  We  assembled  in  the  draw- 
ing-room. There  were  about  six  ladies  ;  and  I  was  very  gra- 
ciously received  by  the  Lady  Mayoress  and  the  Lady  Mayoress 
Elect,  the  latter  of  whom  I  had  the  honor  of  leading  to  the 
great  dining  hall.  The  Lady  Mayoress  elect  will  be  Lady 
Mayoress  at  the  great  civic  feast  to  their  Majesties,  so  that  I 


244  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1830. 

had  the  honor  of  leading  the  very  lady  to  dmner  whom  the 
King  will  lead  to  the  great  Guildhall  dinner  in  about  a  fort- 
night. It  was  truly  a  civic  feast.  I  had  the  honor  of  sitting 
second  on  the  right  hand  from  the  Lady  Mayoress,  there  being 
the  Lord  Mayor  elect  between  me  and  her,  so  that  I  sat  be- 
tween the  Lord  and  Lady  Mayor  elect,  to  be  Lord  and  Lady 
Mayor  in  a  few  days.  They  were  both  as  kind  and  cordial  to  me 
as  possible,  as  was  also  the  Lady  Mayoress.  There  are  some 
venerable  customs  handed  down  from  very  remote  antiquity, 
which  I  took  great  delight  in  witnessing  and  sharing  in.  After 
dinner  one  of  the  portly  and  magnificent  waiters  stood  behind 
the  Lady  Mayoress  with  a  large  flagon  having  a  lid  that  lifted, 
and  filled  with  the  best  spiced  wine.  He  then  called  out 
*  silence,'  and  delivered  the  following  speech  from  behind  the 
Lady  Mayoress,  with  the  great  flagon  in  his  hand  :  '  Com- 
missioners of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  the  Lord  Mayor,  the 
Lady  Mayoress,  the  Lord  Mayor  elect,  the  Lady  Mayoress 
elect,  my  masters  the  Sheriff"  and  Aldermen  of  the  good  city 
of  London,  bid  you  hearty  welcome  to  this  our  ancient  town, 
and  offer  you  a  cup  of  love  and  kindness,  in  token  of  good 
feeling  and  good  fellowship.'  I  have  not  done  justice  to  the 
speech,  for  those  Aldermen  present  were  named  in  it,  among 
the  rest  the  famous  Alderman  Waitman  and  Sir  Claudius 
Hunter.  After  this  speech  by  the  crier,  the  cup  was  given  to 
the  Lady  Mayoress,  who  turned  round  with  it  to  her  neighbor, 
the  Lord  Mayor  Elect ;  he  lifted  the  lid  and  kept  it  in  his  hand 
till  she  drank,  both  standing  ;  she  then  gave  it  to  him,  but  not 
till  she  wiped  with  a  towel  the  place  she  had  drunk  at ;  he  put 
on  the  lid,  and  turned  round  to  me  who  rose  ;  I  took  off"  the  lid, 
he  drank,  wiped,  gave  the  cup  to  me  ;  I  turned  round  to  my 
next  neighbor,  the  Lady  Mayoress  elect,  she  rose  and  took  off" 
the  lid,  I  drank,  wiped,  and  gave  the  cup  to  her  who  put  on 
the  hd,  turned  to  her  next  neighbor,  etc.,  and  so  the  cup,  or 
great  flagon  rather,  went  round  the  whole  company.  Another 
peculiar  observance  was,  that  instead  of  hand  glasses  for  wash- 
ing, there  was  put  down  an  immense  massive  plate  of  gilt  silver, 
with  a  little  rose  water  poured  into  it,  and  placed  before  the 


J 


MT.  50.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  245 

Lady  Mayoress  ;  she  dipped  the  corner  of  her  towel  into  it, 
and  thereAvith  sponged  her  face  and  hands,  and  said  plate  went 
round  the  table,  and  each  of  us  did  the  same.  It  was  most 
refreshing.  Then  came  toasts  and  speeches.  The  Moderator 
gave  one  in  reply  to  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  the  Lady 
Mayoress  declared  she  would  not  leave  the  room  till  I  spoke, 
so  there  was  a  particular  toast  for  me,  and  I  had  to  make  a 
speech,  which  I  concluded  with  a  toast  to  the  Lady  Mayoress. 
Mr.  George  Sinclair  was  asked  by  her  Ladyship  to  return  thanks 
in  her  name,  which  he  did  with  a  speech,  etc.  After  the  ladies 
retired  I  sat  between  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  took  the  chair, 
and  Alderman  Sir  Claudius  Hunter,  who  was  particularly  kind 
to  me.  We  drank  tea  with  the  ladies  ;  and  I  had  much  cordial 
conversation  with  the  eminentes  who  were  there,  as  Alderman 
Waithman,  Mr.  Hartwell  Home,  author  of  the  '  Introduction  ;' 
Mr.  Alexander  Chalmers,  author  of  ihe  *  Biographical  Dic- 
tionary ;'  Sir  Peter  and  Lady  Laurie,  etc.  I  should  have 
mentioned  that  I  gave  a  second  little  speech  in  compliment  to 
Mr.  Home,  whom  I  offered  as  a  toast.  We  went  off  in  our 
carriages  about  ten,  much  delighted  with  the  day's  work,  and 
retired  to  bed  soon  after  our  arrival. 

It  was  during  this  visit  that  he  saw  Mr.  Irving  for  the  last 
time.  The  incident  is  thus  recorded  by  himself:  "  Had  a 
very  interesting  call  from  Mr.  Irving  between  one  and  two 
while  I  was  in  bed.  He  stopped  two  hours,  wherein  he  gave 
his  expositions  ;  and  I  gave  at  greater  length  and  liberty  than 
I  had  ever  done  before  my  advices  and  my  views.  We  parted 
from  each  other  with  great  cordiality,  after  a  prayer  which  he 
himself  offered  and  delivered  with  great  pathos  and  piety."* 


"  *The  I'emonstrances  of  Dr.  Chalmers  had  no  effect  in  dislodging  from 
the  mind  of  Mr.  Irving  liis  implicit  faith  in  the  restoration  of  miraculous 
gifts  to  the  Church.  How  strong  this  belief  remained  with  him  to  the 
last,  will  appear  from  the  following  affecting  extract  from  a  paper  drawn 
up  by  his  father-in-law,  the  late  Dr.  Martin  of  Kirkaldy  : 

"  Of  his  implicit  obedience  to  what  he  believed  to  be  the  voice  of 
Jehovah,  one  of  the  most  sti'iking  instances  was  what  led  to  his  dying 
in  Glasgow.    His  medical  advisers  had  recommended  him  to  proceed 


246  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1830. 

In  the  General  Assembly  of  1 83 1  the  errors  of  Mr.  Irving  were 
taken  under  consideration,  and  resolutions  adopted  emphati- 
cally condemning  them,  and  instructing  "  any  presbytery  be- 
fore which  he  might  appear,  claiming  the  privileges  of  a  licen- 
tiate or  minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  to  call  him  to  its 

before  the  end  of  autumn  to  Madeira,  or  some  other  spot  where  he  might 
shun  the  vicissitudes  and  inclemency  of  a  British  winter.  But  some  of 
the  oracular  voices  which  found  utterance  in  his  church  had  proclaimed 
it  to  be  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  go  to  Scotland,  and  do  a  great 
work  there.  Accordingly,  after  an  equestrian  tour  in  Wales,  by  which 
his  health  appeared  at  first  to  be  improved,  but  the  benefit  of  which  he 
lost  through  exposure  to  the  weather  and  occasional  preaching,  contrary 
to  the  injunctions  of  his  physician,  he  arrived  at  Liverpool  on  his  way  to 
the  north.  In  that  town  he  was  taken  alarmingly  ill,  and  was  unable 
for  several  days  to  quit  his  bed  ;  but  no  sooner  could  he  rise  and  walk 
through  the  room,  than  he  went,  in  defiance  of  the  prohibition  of  his 
medical  attendant,  on  board  a  steamboat  for  Greenock.  From  Greenock 
he  proceeded  to  Glasgow,  delighted  at  having  reached  the  first  destina- 
tion that  had  been  indicated  to  him.  From  Glasgow  it  was  his  purpose 
to  proceed  to  Edinburgh  ;  but  this  I  need  not  say  he  never  accomplished. 
So  much,  however,  was  his  mind  impressed  with  its  being  his  duty  to 
go  there,  that  even  after  he  was  unable  to  rise  from  his  bed  without  assis- 
tance, he  proposed  that  he  should  be  carried  thither  in  a  litter,  if  the 
journey  could  not  be  accomplished  m  any  other  way  ,  and  it  was  only 
because  the  friends  about  him  refused  to  comply  with  his  urgent  requests 
to  that  eff'ect,  that  the  thing  was  not  done.  Could  he  have  commanded 
the  means  himself,  the  attempt  at  least  would  have  been  made.  IS'or, 
though  his  frame  of  mind  was  that  of  almost  continual  converse  with 
God,  do  I  think  that  he  e^er  lost  the  confidence,  that  after  being  brought 
to  the  very  brink  of  the  grave,  he  was  still  to  mark  the  finger  of  God  in 
his  receiving  strength  for  his  Scottish  mission,  till  the  last  day  of  his  life 
was  far  advanced,  when  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  comforting  ex- 
pressions which  he  uttered  seemed  to  intimate  that  he  had  been  debating 
the  point  Avith  himself,  whether  he  should  yield  to  the  monitions  which 
increasing  weakness  gave  him  of  approaching  dissolution,  or  retain  his 
assurance  that  he  should  yet  be  re-invigorated  for  his  distant  undertak- 
ing. 'Well,'  said  he,  '  the  sum  of  the  matter  is,  if  I  live,  I  live  unto  the 
Lord  ;  and  if  I  die,  I  die  unto  the  Lord;  living  or  dying,  I  am  the  Lord's;' — 
a  conclusion  which  seemed  to  set  at  rest  all  his  difficulties  on  the  sub- 
ject of  his  duty.  So  strongly  had  his  confidence  of  restoration  commu- 
nicated itself  to  Mrs.  Irving,  that  it  was  not  till  within  an  hour  or  so  of 
his  death  that  she  entertained  any  idea  of  the  impending  event." 


MV.    50.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  247 

bar."  At  the  same  time,  Mr.  McLean  and  Mr.  Scott,  two 
licentiates,  who  had  adopted  his  or  similar  views  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  Saviour,  as  having  taken  on  him  fallen  human  na- 
ture, were  deprived  of  their  license,  and  Mr.  Campbell  of  Row, 
was  deposed  for  teaching  the  doctrine  of  universal  atonement, 
and  that  assurance  is  of  the  nature  of  faith.  Dr.  Chalmers 
was  not  in  the  Assembly  in  which  these  questions  were  agita- 
ted, yet  we  find  reason  to  believe  that  his  opinions  were  not 
without  weight  in  their  settlement. 

The  Church  of  Scotland  had  now  lost  one  upon  whose  judg- 
ment and  activity  she  had  long  been  accustomed  to  repose 
much  confidence.  Only  about  two  months  before  the  meeting 
of  that  Assembly,  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson  had  fallen  by  a  stroke 
unusually  sudden.  On  the  9th  of  February,  1831,  in  full 
vigor  of  mind  and  body,  he  had  taken  part  in  the  business  of 
presbytery,  and  returning  home  in  animated  conversation  with 
a  friend,  reached  his  own  door,  fell  down  and  expired.  Imme- 
diately after  the  event,  Dr.  Chalmers  Avas  among  the  friends 
who  hastened  to  the  spot,  but  found  every  effort  to  restore  the 
functions  of  life,  in  vain.  No  death  could  have  been  so  gravely 
felt  throughout  Scotland,  save  that  of  Dr.  Chalmers  himself. 
They  had  co-operated,  for  a  long  series  of  years,  in  the  same 
noble  cause.  They  had  stood  side  by  side  in  the  front  of 
evangelization.  The  theological  lecture  of  next  day  closed 
with  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Tliomson. 

"  I  meant,  gentlemen,  to  have  expatiated  on  this  subject  at 
a  greater  length,  and  perhaps  would  have  done  so  with  greater 
vigor,  but  I  must  confess  that  the  sad  and  saddening  event  of 
yesternight  has  unhinged  me  out  of  all  strength  for  the  requis- 
ite preparation.  At  the  ordinary  time  employed  in  framing  a 
lesson  for  others,  I  was  called  away  to  be  a  learner  myself — 
to  read  a  lesson  which  of  all  others  is  the  oftenest  told,  yet  the 
oftenest  forgotten — to  gaze  upon  features  which  a  short  time 
before  were  instinct  with  living  energy,  but  which  were  then 
fast  locked  in  the  insensibility  of  death.  I  should  not  have 
felt  myself  justified  in  thus  adverting  to  it,  had  it  only  stood 
connected  with  personal  griefs  or  personal  interests  of  my  own. 


248  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1881. 

but,  gentlemen,  it  is  an  event  of  deepest  interest  to  the  mem- 
bers of  a  theological  school,  and  more  especially  to  those  who 
are  now  training  for  the  Church  of  Scotland,  standing  apprised, 
as  I  doubt  not  you  all  are,  of  the  heavy  loss  that  Church  has 
sustained  in  the  noblest  and  most  distinguished  of  her  minis- 
ters. A  time  of  deep  emotion  is  not  the  time  for  analysis  ;  yet 
the  characteristics  of  Dr.  Thomson's  mind  stood  forth  in  such 
bold  and  prominent  relief,  that  it  needs  but  the  bare  enumera- 
tion to  be  recognized  by  the  most  superficial  observer.  The 
first  and  foremost  of  these  characteristics  was  a  dauntless,  un- 
compromising honesty  in  the  maintenance  of  all  which  he 
deemed  to  be  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness.  But,  gen- 
tlemen, I  must  spare  myself  the  execution  of  this  task,  for  I 
feel  the  wound  to  be  greatly  too  recent,  and  that  the  afilicted 
heart  keeps  all  the  other  faculties  of  the  soul  in  abeyance.  At 
present  I  have  no  steadiness  of  hand  for  drawing  a  portrait, 
every  lineament  of  which  opens  a  fresh  and  bitter  recollection. 
There  is  still  an  oppressive  weight  on  the  subject,  which  makes 
all  attempts  at  delineation  impossible  ;  and  rather  far  than 
sketch  the  likeness  of  one  who,  with  a  suddenness  so  extraor- 
dinary, has  been  drawn  away  from  us,  would  I  now  mingle  in 
sympathy  with  his  friends,  or  weep  with  his  deserted  family." 
The  hand  which  here  refused  to  draw  the  beloved  portrait- 
ure, a  few  days  afterward  executed  it  in  a  manner  worthy  both 
of  itself  and  of  the  illustrious  subject.  The  funeral  sermon, 
of  which  it  forms  a  part,  will  be  found  in  the  collection  of  Dr. 
Chalmers's  pubhshed  works. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

In  November,  1830,  the  speculations  on  Political  Economy, 
which  had  been  suspended  to  make  way  for  the  preparation  of 
his  theological  lectures,  were  resumed.  It  had  long  been  an  ob- 
ject of  ambition  with  him  to  produce  a  work  on  that  subject  which 
might  constitute  a  suitable  starting  point  for  a  series  of  publica- 
tions on  Moral  Philosophy  and  Theology.  Through  the  whole 
session  of  1830-31,  he  pursued  the  subject  in  weekly  lectures 
before  his  class,  and  the  succeeding  summer  was  spent  in  throw- 
ing his  long  accumulating  materials  into  the  form  of  a  regular 
methodical  treatise.  The  work  was  published  in  January,  1832. 
This,  the  favorite  child  of  his  intellect,  was  doomed  to  meet,  at 
first,  with  a  scanty  share  of  public  favor.  The  time  was  unpropi- 
tious.  All  minds  were  engrossed  with  the  Reform  Bill,  which 
was  then  before  Parliament,  and  the  grand  object  of  popular 
desire.  Dr.  Chalmers,  though  decidedly  liberal  in  his  views, 
and  though  his  best  efforts  had  been  given  to  the  cause  of  the 
poor,  was  not  in  favor  of  that  bill.  The  measures  therein  pro- 
posed he  deemed  inadequate,  and  the  hopes  thereby  created 
fallacious.  His  book  was  written  Avith  the  express  design  of  sift- 
ing and  exposing  the  insufficiency  of  all  such,  and  of  preparing 
the  way  for  his  future  proof  that  a  moral  and  rehgious  reform  was 
needed  as  the  basis  of  all  permanent  improvement  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  lower  classes.  In  proportion,  therefore,  to  the 
cogency  of  its  reasoning  was  its  necessary  unpopularity  before 
the  then  existing  state  of  public  feeling.  Some  of  the  Reviews 
were  abusive,  designating  the  doctrine  of  the  work  "most  por- 
tentous and  abominable,"  and  **  a  miserable  sophism,"  and 
the  author  as  one  "  incompetent  to  reason  on  the  subject ;"  but 
Dr.  Chalmers  having  committed  the  full  expression  of  his  views 
to  the  public,  as  usual,  withheld  from  all  controversy  with 
opponents  in  defense  of  them. 

(249) 


250  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1S80. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Meiklejohn  had  left  the  chair  of  Church 
History,  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  vacant.  In  the  can- 
vass which  ensued,  it  was  most  gratifying  to  the  feehngs  of 
Dr.  Chalmers  that  the  new  professor  was  appointed  out  of  re- 
spect to  his  recommendation,  and  from  entire  confidence  in  his 
judgment,  and  still  more  so  that  one  of  so  congenial  a  spirit 
as  the  excellent  Dr.  Welsh  became  thereby  his  fellow-laborer. 

In  the  month  of  October  he  received  a  letter  from  the  Bishop 
of  London,  informing  him  of  that  article  in  the  will  of  the 
Earl  of  Bridgewater,  setting  apart  eight  thousand  pounds  for 
the  purpose  of  procuring  "  a  treatise  or  treatises  to  be  written 
in  proof  of  the  wisdom  and  benevolence  of  the  Deity  as  mani- 
fested in  the  works  of  creation,"  and  requesting  him  to  un- 
dertake a  portion  of  the  work.  The  department  assigned  to 
him  being  the  "  Adaptation  of  External  Nature  to  the  Moral 
and  Intellectual  Constitution  of  Man,"  fell  in  wuth  a  favorite 
train  of  thought,  and  was  accordingly  accepted  with  delight, 
and  pursued  with  alacrity.  The  summer  months  of  1832  were 
given  up  to  the  composition  of  this  work  which  was  published 
in  the  succeeding  year.  The  Quarterly  Review,  hostile  not 
only  to  all  liberal  thought,  but  to  all  works  of  liberal  thinkers, 
attempted  to  prejudice  the  public  mind  in  regard  to  it,  but 
failed  to  obstruct  its  deserved  popularity.  "  Two  editions  of 
fifteen  hundred  were  disposed  of  as  soon  as  pubhshed.  In 
1834,  a  third  edition  of  the  same  number  of  copies  was  called 
for,"  after  which  it  ceased  to  appear  as  a  Bridgewater  Treatise, 
being  incorporated  into  the  series  of  its  author's  works. 

While  Dr.  Chalmers's  feehngs  were  truly  liberal  his  politi- 
cal views  led  him  to  adhere  chiefly  to  the  conservatist  party  ; 
he  consistently  disapproved  of  the  Reform  Bill,  and  refusing 
to  join  in  the  illumination  on  the  occasion  of  its  success,  suf- 
fered the  penalty  of  having  his  windows  shattered  by  the  mob. 
The  stormy  spirit  exhibited  at  that  time  by  the  lowest  class  of 
the  people  in  burning  of  grain,  in  machine  breaking,  and  de- 
structive riots,  was  indeed  enough  to  deter  any  good  and  brave 
man  from  giving  his  support  to  the  party  to  which  it  belonged. 


^T.    50.  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  251 

In  reality  however,  he  was  less  a  conservative  than  a  reformer, 
whose  schemes  were  above  the  reach  of  ordinary  whig  politics  ; 
and  while  the  radicals  were  for  leveling  all  things  down  to  them- 
selves, he  proposed  to  level  all  classes  up  toward  the  standard 
of  the  Gospel. 

The  aproach  of  the  cholera  in  January,  1832,  threw  the 
whole  country  into  a  state  of  terror  and  dismay.  The  Pres- 
bytery of  Edinburgh,  at  their  meeting  on  the  25th  of  January, 
resolved  that  the  9th  of  February  should  be  observed  as  a 
fast-day  within  their  bounds  ;  but  afterward  learning  that  the 
government  intended  to  appoint  a  general  fast,  another  meet- 
ing was  called  to  reconsider  their  resolution.  The  remarks  of 
Dr.  Chalmers,  especially  as  far  as  pertaining  to  his  practical 
views  of  prayer,  are  too  valuable  to  be  omitted.  ''  My  first, 
my  main  reason,  indeed,  for  wishing  an  earlier  presbyterial 
fast,  and  not  waiting  for  a  later  national  one  is,  that  in  every; 
case  of  urgent  and  immediate  danger  I  should  like  the  speedi- 
est and  promptest  application  of  the  remedy  that  is  suited  to 
it.  For  the  averting  of  disease  I  believe  in  the  healing  virtue 
of  medicine,  but  for  the  averting  of  disease,  I  believe  also  in 
the  healing  virtue  of  prayer.  I  would  rather,  therefore,  have  a 
fast  in  a  few  days,  than  a  fast  in  a  few  weeks,  on  the  very  principle 
that  I  would  rather  take  the  proper  medicine  in  an  hour,  than  de- 
lay taking  it  till  to-morrow.  I  hold  that  religion  is  a  mockery,  and 
the  church  and  the  priesthood  are  but  a  solemn  imposition  on  the 
world,  if  there  be  no  substantial  efficacy  in  prayer — if  there  be  no 
such  process  as  that  of  a  real  and  actual  interchange  between 
Heaven  and  earth,  of  ascending  petitions  on  the  one  hand,  of 
descending  mercies  and  fulfillments  on  the  other.  But  be- 
lieving, as  I  do,  in  the  doctrine  of  prayer,  in  the  plain  and  lit- 
eral import  of  it,  as  being  an  asking  on  the  one  side  and  a  re- 
ceiving on  the  other,  I  would  have  the  speediest  possible  day 
for  public  and  social  prayer,  and  that  for  the  business  object  of 
laying  the  speediest  possible  arrest  on  the  progress  of  the 
destroyer.  When  once  this  principle  takes  full  possession  of 
the  mind  all  other  considerations  are  of  a  subordinate  and 


262  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1832 

secondaiy  character.  If  only  confident  of  the  efifect  of  prayer 
in  propitiating  the  favor  of  God,  one  cares  less  and  thinks  less 
of  the  efifect  it  may  have  upon  men. 

"  And  yet  this  latter  object  ought  not  to  be  undervalued, 
nor  am  I  at  all  unwilling  to  enter  on  the  question  of  the 
efifect  which  any  measure  of  ours  may  have  on  the  minds  and 
feelings  of  general  society.  There  is  no  subject  on  which  men 
are  more  apt  to  go  astray,  than  when  pronouncing  on  the  state 
of  the  public  taste  or  the  public  sentiment  in  regard  to  any 
given  question.  Each  man  takes  his  impression  from  that  part 
of  the  public  wherewith  he  himself  has  personally  and  imme- 
diately to  do ;  and  perhaps  it  will  be  just  set  down  as  my  indi- 
vidual variety  of  opinion  on  this  matter,  but  I  must  confess  it 
to  be  my  strong,  indeed,  my  confident  impression,  that  by  our 
perseverance  in  the  resolution  of  last  Presbytery  on  the  subject 
of  the  fast,  by  our  holding  it  even  in  the  prospect  of  another 
which  we  are  bound  to  hold  with  equal  solemnity  and  rever- 
ence, we  shall  earn  the  blessings  and  the  grateful  acknowledg- 
ments of  all  that  is  best  principled  and  best  conditioned  among 
tlie  families  of  Edinburgh. 

"  On  this  question  I  do  feel  for  the  character  and  independ- 
ence of  our  church.  The  inconvenience  of  a  double  fast  is  a 
bagatelle  when  compared  with  the  permanent  stain  that  we 
shall  inflict  by  this  method  of  avoiding  it.  Did  ever  the  eccle- 
siastical give  way  to  the  civil  in  such  a  manner  before  ?  —  and 
shall  we  compare  the  temporary  awkwardness  that  will  soon  be 
got  over,  with  the  perpetual  mischief  of  the  conspicuous  prece- 
dent, held  forth  by  this  metropolitan  Presbytery,  in  the  sight 
of  all  the  land  ?  I  hailed,  with  delight,  the  presbyterial  ap- 
pointment, though  from  my  absence  on  the  day  of  its  being 
made,  I  had  no  share  in  it;  and  I  hail  with  equal,  perhaps  with 
surpassing  delight,  the  promise  of  a  national  appointment.  I 
rejoice  in  the  public  recognition  of  God  by  our  rulers,  whether 
in  church  or  state  ;  and  there  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands among  us,  who  will  most  cordially  do  honor  to  both. 

"  It  has  been  said  that  men  will  not  suspend  their  secular 
business  on  the  presbyterial  fast-day  ;  and  that,  in  particular, 


^T  51.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  253 

the  civil  authorities  will  not  acknowledge  it.    Our  services  will 
not  be  the  less  interesting,  and,  I  may  add,  not  the  less  effect- 
ive, though  none  but  simple  and  spontaneous  worshipers  —  the 
worshipers  of  the  heart  —  are  found  to  share  in  them.     The  ] 
strength  of  our  church  lieth  not  in  the  countenance  of  power,  ; 
it  lies  in  the  religion  of  our  people  ;  and  I  promise,  if  our  ap-  i 
pointment  for   Thursday  shall   stand,  such  a  general  response 
to  it  on  the  part  of  the  population,  as  will  cause  every  lover  of 
our  Establishment  to  rejoice.     And  if  the  civil  authorities  do 
refuse  their  countenance  to  it,  we,  I  trust,  shall  never  be  want- 
ing in  all  loyalty  and  respect  to  them.     The  men  who  do  pro- 
foundest  homage  to  the  presbyterial   fast,  will   do  profoundest 
to  the  national  fast  also.    We  shall  do  the  one,  and  most  assur- 
edly not  leave  the  other  undone." 

The  Presbytery  resolved  to  keep  their  original  appointment, 
"  and  in  the  general  and  devout  observance  of  the  day.  Dr. 
Chalmers's  anticipations  were  more  than  verified."  The  na- 
tional fast  was  observed  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month.  In 
the  interval,  many  outbreaks  of  popular  prejudice  and  violence, 
stimulated  by  the  force  of  terror,  had  occurred.  Mobs  had 
assailed  the  cholera  hospitals  and  insulted  some  of  the  most 
eminent  and  benevolent  of  the  physicians  ;  while  there  had 
been  found  in  parliament  some  members  who  ridiculed  the  pro- 
posal which  recognized  the  hand  of  God  in  the  pestilence.  To 
these  facts  allusion  was  made  by  Dr.  Chalmers  in  his  prayer 
while  conducting  in  St.  George's  church  the  solemnities  of  the 
day  of  national  humiliation.  The  words  of  the  prayer  were 
taken  down  by  one  of  the  audience,  a  copy  was  also  solicited 
from  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  widely  circulated  in  the  public 
papers. 

"Do  Thou,  0  Lord,  ward  off  from  us  the  further  inroads  of 
that  desolating  plague,  which  in  its  mysterious  progress  over 
the  face  of  the  earth  has  made  such  fearful  ravao-es  amono-  the 

o  o 

families  of  other  lands.  Hitherto,  0  God,  Thou  hast  dealt 
m.ildly  and  mercifully  with  the  city  of  our  own  habitation.  Do 
Thou  pour  out  the  spirit  of  grace  and  supplication  upon  its  in- 
habitants, and  spare  them,  if  it  be  thy  blessed  will,  the  inflic- 


254:  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1832. 

tions  of  that  wrath  which  is  so  rightfully  due  to  a  careless  and 
ungodly  generation. 

"  We  pray,  0  Lord,  in  a  more  especial  manner,  for  those 
patriotic  men  whose  duty  calls  them  to  a  personal  encounter 
with  this  calamity,  and  who,  braving  all  the  hazards  of  infec- 
tion, may  be  said  to  stand  between  the  living  and  the  dead. 
Save  them  from  the  attacks  of  disease  ;  save  them  from  the 
obloquies  of  misconception  and  prejudice  ;  and  may  they  have 
the  blessings  and  acknowledgments  of  a  grateful  community 
to  encourage  them  in  their  labors. 

•'Above  all,  we  pray,  0  God,  that  the  infidehty  which  places 
all  its  reliance  on  secondary  causes  may  never  sway  either  the 
councils  of  this  city,  or  the  councils  of  this  nation.  May  there 
at  all  times  be  the  public  recognition  of  a  God  in  the  midst  of 
us.  And  let  not  the  defiance  or  the  levity  of  irreligious  men  ever 
tempt  us  to  forget  that  mighty  unseen  Being,  who  has  all  the 
forces  of  nature  at  his  command — who  sits  behind  the  elements 
that  he  has  formed,  and  gives  birth,  and  movement,  and  con- 
tinuance to  all  things." 

The  practical  efl&cacy  of  prayer  was  a  subject  more  fully  and 
systematically  treated  in  the  sermon  preached  on  the  .same  oc- 
casion, and  which  is  now  included  in  the  series  of  his  works. 

In  accordance  with  a  recommendation  made  by  a  committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  government  in  1831,  resolved 
to  adopt  a  system  of  popular  instruction  for  Ireland,  which 
was  expected  to  meet  the  wants  and  gratify  the  feelings  of  the 
various  parties  in  that  portion  of  the  United  Kingdom.  A  board 
was  to  be  constituted,  of  persons  professing  different  religious 
opinions,  and  which  was  to  exercise  a  complete  control  over  all 
the  schools  erected  under  its  auspices.  For  four  or  five  days 
in  the  week,  moral  and  literary  education  only  was  to  be  given 
in  these  schools,  and  the  remaining  one  or  two  set  apart  for 
snch  religious  instruction  as  the  clergymen  of  the  respective 
persuasions  should  approve.  *'  The  board  was  also  to  '  permit 
and  encourage  the  clergy  to  give  religious  instruction  to  the 
children  of  their  respective  persuasions,  either  before  or  after 
the  ordinary  school  hours  in  the  other  days  of  the  week.'  " 


-ST.  51.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  265 

The  Bible  was  not  to  be  employed  in  the  common  instruction 
of  these  schools,  but  a  book  of  Scripture  extracts  was  drawn 
up  for  that  purpose.  A  register  was  also  to  be  kept  of  the 
attendance  of  the  children  at  their  different  places  of  worship 
on  the  Sabbath. 

This  scheme  was  vehemently  opposed  in  Ireland.  The  Kildare 
Street  Society,  the  most  active  in  the  work  of  popular  instruc- 
tion, in  whose  schools  the  Bible  was  daily  read  and  attendance 
on  that  exercise  imperatively  enjoined,  rose  against  it.  The 
Protestants  generally,  considered  themselves  injured  by  it,  and 
the  Orangemen,  viewing  it  in  a  political  light,  took  a  large  part 
in  the  opposition.  Petitions  against  the  measure  flowed  in  upon 
the  House  of  Commons  from  all  parts  of  the  country;  and  in 
this  movement  of  protestant  Ireland,  Scotland  was  at  first  dis- 
posed to  join.  At  an  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Edinburgh,  held  for  the  purpose  of  considering  this  subject, 
it  was  moved  that  the  Presbytery  should  petition  Parhament 
against  the  proposed  plan  of  education  for  Ireland.  Dr.  Chal- 
mers was  not  favorable  to  that  motion.  "We  all  know,  Mode- 
rator, said  he,  "  that  this  has  been  a  question  very  keenly 
agitated  elsewhere  ;  that  it  has  given  rise  in  many  quarters  to 
a  very  busy  fermentation;  and  that  certainly  one  ingredient  of 
this  fermentation  is,  I  trust,  what  will  never  be  admitted  within 
the  limits  of  any  ecclesiastical  court  in  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
The  fact  is  too  glaring  to  be  denied,  that  often,  very  often, 
there  has  been  a  great  deal  more  of  politics  than  of  religion  in 
this  opposition  to  the  scheme  of  education  in  Ireland;  and  that 
thousands  are  the  individuals  who  care  not  a  straw  for  Chris- 
tianity, who  have  gladly  seized  upon  the  topic,  and  now  wield 
it  as  a  mere  instrument  of  annoyance,  and,  they  hope,  of  event- 
ual overthrow  to  the  existing  administration.  I  trust  that  the 
very  respectable  movers  of  the  question  in  this  place,  will  give 
me  full  credit  when  I  acquit  them,  as  I  do,  most  cordially,  of 
any  sinister,  any  secondary  design  of  this  sort ;  indeed,  we 
should  all,  I  am  firmly  persuaded,  feel  it  a  sad  prostitution  of 
our  Presbytery  to  be  made  the  organ  of  any  State  party  what- 
ever.    But  now  that  the  matter  is  brought  before  us,  it  is  our 


256  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1882 

part  rightly  to  entertain  it,  and  feeling  purely  and  proudly 
independent,  whether  on  the  politics  of  the  ministry,  or  the 
politics   of  the   opposition,  calmly  and  conscientiously,  as  best 
we  may,  to  give  upon  it  a  sound  and  christian-like  deliverance. 
Certain  it  is  that  government  is  now  engaged  with  a  problem 
of  great  difficulty  ;  and  our  becoming  part  is  not  in  a  factious 
spirit  to  embarrass,  but  in  a  friendly,  and  withal  frank  and 
honest  spirit,  to  lay  our  sentiments  before  them.     And  I  have 
no  scruple  in  avowing  it  as  my  own  sentiment,  that  in  the  in- 
stance chiefly  complained  of,  they  have  made  a  most  unfortu- 
nate departure  from  right  principle.     Their  great  error — which 
they  share  in  common  with  their  predecessors  —  the  error,  in 
fact,  into  which  our  rulers  were  betrayed,  even  anterior  to  that 
measure  of  emancipation  which  I  happen  to  have  most  cordially 
approved  of,  and  in  which  error  they  seem  to  have  persisted 
ever  since,  is  to  have  made  the  Cathohcs,  or  any  other  class  of 
subjects  whatever,  parties  in  the  negotiation.     All  along,  they 
have  been  far  more  anxious  to  find  out  what  would  please  the 
Catholics,  than  to  find  out  what  was  in  itself  right.     Now,  in- 
stead of  treating  either  with  Catholics  or  Orangemen  upon  this 
question,  it  would  have  been  far  better  had  they,  in  the  exer- 
cise of   their  independent  wisdom,    framed   their  own   inde- 
pendent  measure,  adopting  not   what    at  the   time  was   the 
most  popular,  but  what,  in  the  light  of  abstract  and  immutable 
truth,  was  the  best  constitution  of  a  school,   and  then  held  it 
forth  as  the  only  constitution  they  would  stand  by,  and  which 
they  offered  to  the  acceptance  of  the  population."     Dr.  Chal- 
mers proceeded  to  state  what  it  was  in  the  constitution  actually 
adopted  for  the  schools,  which  appeared  to  him  to  be  objection- 
able.    This  new  board  was  to  charge  itself  with  the  attend- 
^ce  of  the  pupils  in  the  churches   of  their  various  denomina- 
tion?.    He  could  conceive  nothing  more   unseemly — nothing 
more  calculated  to  obstruct  the   light  making  its  way  in  the 
darkened  mind — than  such  a  board  thus  setting  itself  up,  and 
declaring  that  the  children  of  Catholics  should  go  only  to  their 
own  place   of  worship,   and  that  the   children  of  Protestants 
should  go   nowhere  but  to  theirs.      To  the   employment  of 


Ji:T.  52.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  257 

Scripture  extracts  in  school  instruction,  there  could  be  no  gen- 
eral objection  ;  but  to  a  book  framed  by  a  mixed  Board,  and 
intended  to  supersede  the  entire  word  of  God,  he  had  an 
insuperable  repugnance.  His  conjBdence  was  strong  in  the 
efficacy  of  a  Bible  circulated  with  no  other  seal  upon  it  than 
the  seal  of  its  own  inspiration — no  other  sanction  upon  it  than 
the  high  name  and  authority  of  heaven  ;  but  ''let  it  but  un- 
dergo a  process  of  distillation  through  the  alembic  of  a  human 
council  or  human  commission,  and,  however  slightly  it  may 
have  been  changed,  it  sustains  a  damage;  it  comes  out  to  pub- 
lic view  in  the  character  of  a  book  moulded  by  human  hands, 
so  that  priests  might  approve,  instead  of  standing  forth  in  the 
character  of  a  book  which  neither  priests  nor  people  dare 
to  meddle  with.  The  original  authority  is  overshadowed  by 
the  political  or  ecclesiastical  ;  and,  in  place  of  being  listened  to 
as  the  voice  that  speaketh  from  heaven,  it  is  listened  to  as  a 
voice  proceeding  from  a  conclave  of  fellow-mortals  upon  earth.'* 
His  main,  however,  and  capital  objection,  lay  against  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  Bible  from  the  work  of  ordinary  instruction.  A 
daily  Bible  class — a  class  not  "for  half-learned  children,  but  for 
full  and  tinished  readers —  a  class  not  compulsory  on  any,  but 
optional  to  all,  he  held  to  be  an  integral  and  indispensable  part 
of  all  rightly-constituted  schools,  and  that  part  the  Government 
had  unwisely  and  unrighteously  repudiated.  But  notwithstand- 
ing these  objections,  he  was  not  prepared  to  approach  the 
Legislature  with  a  summary  condemnation  of  the  measure. 
Before  taking  such  a  step,  it  was  his  anxious  desire  that  the 
Presbytery  should  not  only  be  decided  on  the  principles  of  the 
question,  but  conversant  with  all  its  details,  that  they  should 
so  fully  inform  themselves,  and  be  so  thoroughly  prepared,  that 
any  remonstrance  they  might  make  to  government  should  be 
at  once  worthy  of  them  to  offer,  and  of  importance  for  the  gov- 
ernment to  receive.  He  moved,  therefore,  that  in  the  mean- 
time a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  prosecute  inquiry. 
This  motion  was  unanimously  agreed  to.  A  committee  was 
appointed,  with  Dr.  Chalmers  at  its  head,  which  was  instructed 
to  use  all  diligence  and  to  report  to  the  next  meeting  of 
22 


258  LIFE   OF   DR.   CHALMERS.  1882. 

Presbytery.  Dr.  Chalmers  lost  little  time  in  placing  himself 
in  communication  with  many  influential  individuals,  both  among 
the  favorers  and  opponents  of  the  government  scheme.  Two 
days  after  the  meeting  of  Presbytery  we  find  the  following 
entry  in  his  Journal : 

**  Writing  many  letters  as  convener  of  the  Irish  Education 
Committee ;"  and  a  few  days  afterward,  "  overwhelmed  with 
letters  on  the  subject  of  Irish  schools."  Lord  Melbourne  in- 
formed him  that  he  had  so  far  misapprehended  the  meaning  of 
the  regulation  as  to  a  register  of  attendance  at  church,  that  it 
was  not  intended  to  oblige  the  children  to  attend  the  churches 
of  their  own  denomination  ;  but  that  all  difficulty  as  to  this 
regulation  was  likely  to  be  removed  by  its  withdrawal.  Shortly 
afterward,  the  Archbishop  of  Dubhn,  as  a  member  of  the  Board, 
announced  that  the  measure  of  registering  the  attendance  of 
children  at  the  different  places  of  worship  was  relinquished. 
Dr.  Chalmers  had  put  the  following  query  : — '  In  the  contro- 
versy on  this  question  I  observe  it  affirmed  on  the  side  of  gov- 
ernment, that  all  Protestant  children  may  have  daily  reading 
in  the  whole  Bible  if  they  will,  but  is  not  this  only  if  the  cler- 
gyman, or  teacher  employed  by  him,  other  than  the  regular 
schoolmaster,  be  daily  at  his  post,  and  is  not  this  attendance 
very  precarious  V  Lord  Melbourne's  reply  to  this  query  was, 
*  The  parents  of  the  children  and  their  religious  teachers,  may 
make  any  arrangement  they  please  for  the  children  reading  the 
Bible  out  of  school-hours  ;'  an  answer  which  obviously  implied 
that  the  Board  was  not  to  charge  itself  in  any  way  with  the 
matter.  To  the  leading  Parliamentary  opponent  of  the  scheme 
Dr.  Chalmers  put  this  query,  *  If  it  were  made  part  of  the  reg- 
ular schoolmaster's  duty  to  have  a  whole  Bible  class  for  all 
advanced  scholars  who  chose  to  be  taught,  not  out  of  school- 
hours,  but  during  some  part  or  other  of  the  regular  school  diet, 
would  not  that  satisfy  the  Protestants  ?'  The  answer  was,  *  I 
can  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  would  not  satisfy  the 
Protestants.'  In  the  Kildare  street  Society's  schools  the  daily 
reading  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  was  authoritatively  and  uni- 
versally enforced,  no  child  being  allowed  the  benefit  of  the 


MT.  52.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS. 

other  lessons  of  the  school  without  taking  part  in  this,  and 
nothing  short  of  this  would  satisfy  those  whose  opinions  this 
member  represented.  Dr.  Chalmers  discovered  here  that  form 
of  ultraism,  in  the  endeavor  to  avoid  which  the  government 
had  but  fallen  into  another.  He  objected  to  force  being  used, 
whether  that  force  was  employed  for  or  against  the  daily  read- 
ing of  the  Bible  in  the  schools.  Of  that  intermediate  method 
which  he  was  disposed  to  recommend,  he  found  a  perfect  and 
very  interesting  example  in  those  schools  which  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  established  in  cer- 
tain districts  of  the  Highlands  where  a  Catholic  population  pre- 
vailed. In  these  schools  a  daily  Bible  class  was  taught,  but 
the  teachers  were  instructed  '  not  to  press  on  the  Catholic 
children  any  instruction  to  which  their  parents  or  their  priest 
objected  as  interfering  with  the  principles  of  their  own  religion. 
To  the  schools  established  upon  this  principle,  Roman  Catho- 
lic children  were  sent  without  reluctance,  mingling  in  the 
same  classes  with  Protestants,  without  jealousy  or  distinction, 
and  not  unfrequently  joining  in  the  exercises  of  the  Bible 
class. 

"  The  effect  of  that  full  and  special  examination  to  which  the 
government  system  was  subjected  was  to  enhance  rather  than 
extenuate  Dr.  Chalmers's  repugnance  to  it;  and  when,  on  the 
26th  of  April,  he  came  before  the  Presbytery  with  the  Report 
of  the  Committee,  which  he  had  drawm  up,  he  prefaced  it  by 
saying,  '  I  was  bound  to  make  all  possible  inquiries,  and  after 
giving  my  best  attention  to  the  scheme,  I  am  obliged  to  confess 
myself  more  averse  to  its  character,  and  more  fearful  of  its 
consequences,  than  before.'  In  reviewing  the  most  important 
provisions  of  the  plan,  that  Report  observed,  *  The  first  of  these 
provisions  which  the  Committee  would  notice,  is  that  by  which 
in  the  general  and  joint  education  of  the  scholars,  consisting 
both  of  Protestants  and  Catholics,  for  four  or  five  days  in  the 
week  the  use  of  the  Bible  as  a  school-book  is  prohibited,  and 
that  not  because  of  its  literary  unfitness  for  this  ofiice,  but  be- 
cause of  its  religious  unfitness,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Catholic 
priesthood,  for  being  employed  as  a  book  of  juvenile  or  popular 


260  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1882. 

education.  The  most  common,  because  perhaps  the  most 
obvious,  objection  to  this  regulation,  is  the  privation  of  Scrip- 
tural instruction  to  which  it  subjects  the  Protestant  children  ; 
but,  to  the  minds  of  your  Committee,  there  appears  another 
strong  objection  against  it,  and  which  could  not  be  done  away 
thougli  other  days  were  specified  and  other  methods  were 
pointed  out  by  which  the  privation  might  be  compensated  or 
made  up  for  to  the  children  of  Protestants.  The  religious  un- 
fitness of  the  Bible  for  free  and  general  use,  whether  in  schools 
or  through  society  at  large,  is,  we  are  aware,  the  prevalent 
conception  of  the  Romish  priesthood  ;  but  should  the  regula- 
tion in  question  be  adopted,  the  conception  will  be  embodied  in 
British  law,  and  it  does  appear  a  signal  departure  from  the 
spirit  of  that  legislation  which  has  obtained  in  this  country  for 
several  generations,  if,  for  the  first  time,  an  express  restriction 
be  laid  on  the  use  of  Scripture  by  the  authority  of  the  State. 

It  does  not  appear  to  your  Committee  that  a  book  of 

Scripture  extracts  is  at  all  unsuitable  for  schools,  but  all  de- 
pends on  the  purposes  for  which  such  a  book  may  have  been 
formed.  It  essentially  changes  the  character  of  such  a  compi- 
lation, when,  instead  of  being  given  as  a  specimen  of  the  Bible, 
it  is  given  as  a  substitute  for  the  Bible  ;  or  when,  instead  of 
certain  parts  of  Scripture  being  admitted  for  the  literary  object 
of  easy  reading,  or  of  adaptation  to  the  gradual  advancement 
of  the  learners,  certain  parts  are  excluded  because  of  a  reli- 
gious objection  by  the  priests,  as  members  of  any  denomina- 
tion. It  is  this  surrender  of  the  truth  and  wisdom  of  God  to 
the  partialities  or  the  prejudices  of  men  which  vitiates  the 
transaction.  Nor  do  we  escape  from  the  evil  however  indefin- 
itely near  the  substance  and  doctrine  the  book  of  extracts  may 
be  to  the  whole  Bible.  If  any  part  of  Scripture,  however 
small,  have  been  given  up  in  deference  to  a  religious  antipathy, 
if  any  words,  however  few,  have  been  taken  out  of  this  book 
because  they  are  offensive  to  the  principles  or  feelings  of  a 
particular  sect,  then,  in  concession  to  the  demands  of  that  sect, 
the  integrity  of  Heaven's  Record  is  violated,  and  the  same 
malign  character  adheres  to  the  principle  of  the  compromise, 


^T.    52.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  261 

whatever  is  the  material   extent,  whether  great  or  small,  to 

which  it  may  be  carried The  only  remaining  feature 

of  this  scheme  to  which  we  would  direct  the  attention  of  the 
Presbytery,  is  that  by  which  the  toleration  of  the  Catholics  on 
the  part  of  the  government  has  advanced  toward  positive  favor. 
On  the  days  for  separate  religious  instruction  the  clergy  of 
both  denominations  are  not  only  permitted,  but  j)ermitted  and 
encouraged,  to  give  religious  instruction  to  the  children  of  their 

own  persuasion This  seems  to  proceed  on  the  ground 

that  the  mere  existence  of  a  sect,  irrespective  of  all  considera- 
tion of  its  tenets,  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  reason  not  merely  for 
its  being  permitted,  but  for  its  being  fostered  and  patronized. 
In  such  a  policy  of  a  like  treatment  of  different  denominations, 
however  opposed  they  may  be  in  their  pretensions  and  princi- 
ples, there  is  a  virtual  surrender  of  the  great  reason  on  which 
a  Protestant  establishment  is  upheld  either  in  this  or  in  any 
other  land." 

The  Report  concluded  with  stating  it  as  the  opinion  of  the 
Committee,  that  if  it  should  be  deemed  proper  to  approach  the 
government  on  the  subject,  their  petition  should  be  one  as  much 
of  suggestion  as  of  censure,  and  giving  all  due  credit  to  the 
patriotic  purposes  of  those  who  had  undertaken  so  arduous 
a  task.  The  Report  was  approved  and  petition  forwarded,  the 
chief  prayer  of  which  was  that  a  daily  Bible  class,  optional  to 
all  the  children,  should  be  instituted  in  each  school,  and  that 
the  book  of  extracts  and  the  setting  apart  of  separate  days  for 
religious  and  secular  instruction  should  be  relinquished.  The 
subject  was  taken  up  in  the  succeeding  General  Assembly.  In 
the  meanwhile  a  correspondence  on  the  subject  took  place  be- 
tween Dr.  Chalmers  and  Mr.  Stanley,  wherein  it  appeared 
that  the  principal  ground  of  difference  between  them  lay  in 
this,  that  the  latter  would  have  had  the  Protestant  children  to 
meet  half  an  hour  earher,  or  wait  in  school  half  an  hour  later, 
than  the  regular  hours,  to  have  the  Bible  read,  while  the  for- 
mer preferred  that  the  Bible  reading  should  take  place  in  usual 
school  hours,  leaving  the  Catholics  perfectly  free  to  attend  it 
or  not.     "In  the  one   way  of  it,"   as  Dr.    Chalmers  pithily 


LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1882. 

expressed  it,  *'tlie  Bible  was  made  to  skulk  from  the  Catholics, 
and  in  the  other,  the  Catholics  were  made  to  skulk  from  the 
Bible." 

The  succeeding  General  Assembly  learning,  in  the  course 
of  debate  arising  on  this  subject,  the  chief  secretary  saw  no 
objection  to  a  daily  Bible  class  imperative  on  Protestants  and 
optional  to  Catholics,  contented  themselves  with  petitioning  in 
ternjs  equivalent  to  those  employed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Ed- 
inburgh : 

''  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland,  influenced  by  the  same 
considerations,  assumed  at  first  the  same  attitude  of  hostility. 
But  her  interest  in  obtaining  such  a  modification  of  the  defects, 
as  would  place  within  her  reach  the  obvious  benefits  of  the 
scheme,  was  much  more  urgent ;  and  her  negotiations  for  this 
object  were  finally  successful.  At  an  early  stage,  if  not  fPom 
the  period  of  their  compilation,  the  use  of  the  Scripture  extracts 
was  left  optional.  At  first  every  school  receiving  Government 
aid  was  bound  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  regulations  drawn  up 
by  the  Board.  Latterly,  where  the  school-house  has  not  been 
built  by  the  Board,  which  in  the  north  of  Ireland  is  the  usual 
case,  the  local  patrons  draw  up  their  own  regulations,  submit 
them  to  the  Commissioners,  and,  if  approved  of,  are  bound  only 
by  them — central  control  yielding  thus  to  local  authority.  At 
an  interview  with  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  in  the  year 
1 840,  a  deputation  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  submitted  a 
model  constitution  for  these  schools,  which  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Government.  That  constitution  contains  the  follow- 
ing clause  :  *'  The  times  for  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
for  catechetical  instruction,  are  so  arranged  as  not  to  interfere 
with  or  impede  the  scientific  or  secular  business  of  the  school  ; 
and  no  child,  whose  parents  or  guardians  object,  is  required  to 
be  present  or  take  part  in  these  exercises,  and  no  obstruction 
shall  be  ofi'ered  to  the  children  of  such  parents  receiving  such 
instruction  elsewhere  as  they  may  think  proper."  For  the 
children  of  their  own  and  other  Protestant  communions,  the 
Presbyterian  Church  has  secured  all  that  Dr.  Chalmers  desired. 
In  their  schools  the  day  for  separate  religious  instruction  is  done 


MT.    52.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  263 

away.  The  Bible  is  read  during  the  ordinary  school-hours  ; 
"the  extent  of  its  use  subject  to  no  control  but  the  will  of  the 
parents,  expressed  through  committees  of  their  own  free  choice, 
and  the  greatest  convenience  of  the  attending  scholars."  Sub- 
ject to  the  provision  that  instruction  in  them  be  not  forced,  the 
Westminster  Catechisms  are  also  freely  used  during  the 
ordinary  school  hours.  The  schools  under  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church,  enjoying  the  advan- 
tages of  the  Government  bounty,  are  thus  in  their  constitution 
and  practice  identical  with  those  schools  in  the  Highlands 
under  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Scottish  Establishment,  to 
which  Dr.  Chalmers  pointed  as  a  "  beautiful  and  perfect 
example,  unexceptionable  in  its  principles,  and  most  beneficial 
in  its  results." 

Dr.  Chalmers  as  Moderator  of  the  Assembly  of  1832  could, 
of  course,  take  no  part  in  its  debates  ;  yet  there  were  some 
features  which  honorably  distinguished  his  connection  with  it. 
The  daily  public  dinners  given  by  the  Royal  Commissioner 
who  represents  the  Crown  in  General  Assemblies  of  the 
Scottish  Church,  as  well  as  the  daily  public  breakfasts  given  by 
the  Moderator,  it  had  long  been  customary  to  keep  up  through 
both  Sabbaths  occurring  during  the  sitting  of  the  Assembly. 
This  custom  Dr.  Chalmers  resolved  to  break  through,  The 
breakfasts  he  could  discontinue  by  his  own  authority  ;  and  as 
soon  as  he  perceived  the  certainty  of  his  election,  he  wrote  a 
respectful  note  to  the  Commissioner,  Lord  Belhaven,  request- 
ing that  his  presence  at  the  Sunday  dinners,  to  which  the  Mo- 
derator Avas  always  specially  invited,  might  be  dispensed  with, 
and  suggesting  the  propriety  of  suspending  the  entertainment 
on  that  day.  Both  the  request  and  the  suggestion  Avere  favo- 
rably received,  and  the  latter  being  acted  on,  constituted  a 
precedent  which  has  been  observed  ever  since. 

One  of  the  subjects  brought  before  that  Assembly  was  des- 
tined afterward  to  enlist  the  utmost  efforts  of  Dr.  Chalmers, 
and  ere  it  was  settled  to  shake  the  Scottish  Establishment  to 
its  foundations.  It  was  introduced  by  overtures  presented  from 
eight  Presbyteries  and  three  Synods,  supplicating  the  Assembly 


264  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1832. 

to  devise  some  means  for  preventing  the  settlement  of  ministers 
over  congregations  to  which  they  were  unacceptable,  and  for 
giving  efficacy  to  the  call  of  the  people.  In  order  to  comprehend 
the  merits  of  this  question  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  process 
whereby  a  minister  is  inducted,  according  to  usage  of  ihe 
Church  of  Scotland.  For  every  parish  there  is  some  person  or 
persons  possessing  the  right  of  presenting  a  minister  to  the 
church  when  vacant.  In  some  cases  this  person  is  the  monarch, 
in  others,  a  land-owner  of  the  parish  or  some  corporate  body. 
Whoever  possesses  such  a  right  is  called  the  patron  of  that 
parish,  a  relic  of  the  preceding  evils,  which  the  Reformation 
did  not  succeed  in  removing  ;  lay  patronage  was  long  and  firmly 
resisted  by  the  people  and  Church  of  Scotland.  By  the  Revo- 
lution Settlement  in  1699,  it  was  abolished,  but  was  restored  by 
an  Act  of  Parliament  passed  under  the  artful  management  of 
Bolingbroke,  in  1711.  It  was  then,  however,  added  to  a  pro- 
cedure already  perfect  in  itself,  and  from  which  patronage 
might  be  at  any  time  removed  without  leaving  a  deficiency 
behind.  By  a  deed  of  presentation  laid  before  the  Pres- 
bytery, the  patron  nominates  the  minister  whom  he  chooses. 
The  purport  of  this  document  is  that  he  requires  the 
Presbytery  "  to  make  trial  of  the  qualifications "  of  the 
presentee,    "  and    having    found    him    fit    and    qualified    for 

the    functions    of    the    ministry,   at   the    said   parish    of 

to  admit  and  receive  him  thereto  and  give  him  his  act 
of  ordination  and  admission  in  due  and  competent  form."  In 
pursuance  of  this  requirement,  the  first  thing  done  by  the 
Presbytery,  is  to  enjoin  the  presentee  to  preach  in  the  vacant 
church,  on  one  or  two  appointed  Sabbaths,  that  the  people 
over  whom  he  is  to  be  ordained  may  have  some  knowledge 
and  trial  of  his  qualifications.  Thereafter  a  day  is  fixed,  of 
which  due  intimation  from  the  pulpit  is  given  to  the  parishioners, 
on  which  the  Presbytery  assembles  in  the  church  of  the  vacant 
parish,  for  the  purpose  of  moderating  in,  or  presiding  at  the 
call.  At  this  meeting,  after  public  worship  conducted  by  the 
member  of  Presbytery  appointed  to  preside,  a  paper  is  presented, 
the  tenor  whereof  is  as  follows  :  **  We,  the  heritors,   elders, 


^T.  52.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  265 

heads  of  families,  and  parishioners  of  the  parish  of ,  within 

the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of ,  and  county  of ,  taking 

into  consideration  the  present  destitute  state  of  the  said  parish, 
through  the  want  of  a  gospel  ministry  among  us,  occasioned 
by  the  death  of  our  late  pastor,  and  being  satisfied  with  the 
learning,  abilities,  and  other  good  qualifications  of  you,  Mr.  A. 
B.,  and  having  heard  you  preach  to  our  satisfaction  and  edifi- 
cation, do  hereby  invite  and  call  you,  the  said  Mr.  A.  B.,  to 
take  the  charge  and  oversight  of  this  parish,  and  to  come  and 
labor  among  us  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry,  hereby 
promising  to  you  all  due  respect  and  encouragement  in  the 

Lord.     We  likewise  entreat  the  reverend  Presbytery  of 

to  approve  and  concur  with  this  our  most  cordial  call,  and  to 
use  all  proper  means  for  making  the  same  effectual,  by  youi 
ordination  and  settlement  among  us,  as  soon  as  the  steps  neces- 
sary thereto  will  admit.  In  witness  whereof,  we  subscribe  these 
presents."  etc.  This  document  the  people  are  invited  to  sub- 
scribe in  presence  of  the  Presbytery,  and  the  signatures  having 
been  completed,  and  the  Presbytery,  sitting  in  judgment  upon 
the  call  as  now  presented  to  them,  having  sustained  it  as  suffi- 
cient, entered  thereafter  upon  the  trial  of  the  literary  and  theo- 
logical attainments  of  the  presentee.  Having  satisfied  them- 
selves as  to  these,  they  appoint  a  Sabbath  for  serving  the  edict, 
as  it  is  termed,  or  for  publicly  announcing  to  the  congregation 
of  the  vacant  parish,  the  proposed  day  of  ordination  ;  to  which 
announcement  the  notification  is  appended,  that  if  any  one 
knows  any  reason  against  the  admission  of  the  presentee,  he 
is  to  present  himself  before  the  Presbytery  and  give  in  the 
same.  On  the  day  fixed  for  the  final  and  solemn  act  of  ordi- 
nation, before  proceeding  to  the  religious  services,  the  report 
of  the  member  who  served  the  edict  is  called  for  and  received, 
and  again  by  public  proclamation  of  the  officer  of  the  Court,  the 
opportunity  is  offered  to  any  who  have  objections  to  the  life  or 
doctrine  of  the  presentee  to  come  forward  and  substantiate 
them.  No  such  objections  having  been  tendered,  after  pubhc 
worship  the  presentee  is  required  to  stand  up,  and  in  presence 
of  the  congregation,  to  answer  a  series  of  questions,  the  last  of 
23 


266  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1832. 

which  is  as  follows  :  "  Do  you  accept  and  close  with  the  call 
to  be  pastor  of  this  parish,  and  promise  through  grace  to  per- 
form all  the  duties  of  a  faithful  minister  among  this  people?" 
After  an  affirmative  reply  to  this  and  the  preceding  queries,  in 
not  one  of  which  is  any  allusion  made  to  the  patron  or  his  pre- 
sentation, the  Presbytery,  by  prayer  and  the  laying  on  of  hands 
do  solemnly  set  him  apart  to  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry." 

The  Church  remonstrated  on  the  occasion  of  the  restoration 
of  Patronage,  and  repeated  her  protest  for  years,  but  without 
effect.  It  remained  notwithstanding,  in  her  power  gradually,  by 
the  quiet  accumulation  of  precedents,  to  render  the  presentation 
of  little  weight ;  indifference  however  gradually  prevailing  in  the 
church  itself,  and  the  deference  shown  to  patronal  rights,  came  to 
throw  all  the  weight  of  authority  into  the  act  of  presentation, 
while  the  parts  performed  by  the  Presbytery  and  congregation 
ceased  to  be  anything  more  than  empty  form.  Many  remon- 
strances had  been  raised  ao-ainst  this  course  of  usao-e,  and 
several  General  Assemblies,  from  1575  to  1736,  had  attempted 
to  arrest  it  by  declaring  it  to  be  a  principle  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  "  that  no  minister  shall  be  intruded  into  any  parish 
contrary  to  the  will  of  the  congregation."  Latterly,  however, 
the  evil  got  such  foothold  that  the  advocates  of  intrusion  pos- 
sessed an  overwhelming  majority  in  the  Assembly,  and  it  was 
acted  upon  as  law  that  the  will  of  the  people,  howsoever  ex- 
pressed, should  not  constitute  any  barrier  in  carrying  out  the  pre- 
sentation. Some  Presbyteries,  to  whose  lot  it  fell  to  ordain  a 
minister  in  opposition  to  the  general  wish  of  the  people,  remon- 
strated ;  but  in  vain.  The  supreme  ecclesiastical  court  per- 
emptorily commanded  procedure  according  to  the  presenta- 
tion ;  and  at  least  one  example  was  given  of  a  minister  deposed 
from  office  for  refusing  to  comply. 

The  people  finding  that  no  relief  was  to  be  obtained  by  appeal- 
ing to  the  General  Assembly,  made  various  attempts  at  reliev- 
ing themselves,  and  many  settled  down  in  silent  discontent, 
attending  upon  church  as  a  matter  of  respectable  form,  but  in 
which  their  heart  had  no  longer  any  interest.  Others  united 
themselves  with  various  dissenting  bodies,  thus  drawing  from 


JET    52.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  267 

the  establishment,  in  fifty  years,  more  than  one  hundred  thou- 
sand of  the  most  pious  and  energetic  Christians  of  the  country. 

A  few  attempts  were  made  to  meet  force  with  force  or  with 
stratagem.  Upon  the  day  of  ordination  sometimes  the  members 
of  Presbytery  would  be  seized  on  the  way  and  carried  off  to  some 
distant  place,  and  the  intrusive  presentee  coming  to  the  church 
would  find  himself  ingloriously  alone.  Sometimes  the  church 
doors  would  be  found  barricaded  and  guarded  by  a  mob  who 
would  not  suffer  the  Presbytery  to  proceed.  Such  means 
naturally  led  to  a  still  more  oflfensive  step  of  intolerance,  "  and 
the  unseemly  sight  was  witnessed,  of  Presbyters  going  forward 
to  the  ordination  service  guarded  by  dragoons — of  ministers 
placed  in  their  parishes  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet."  The 
party  through  whose  majority  these  violent  and  unwise  mea- 
sures were  taken,  assumed  to  themselves  the  very  modest 
name  of  Moderates,  while  the  small  minority,  who  advocated 
non-intrusion — or,  in  other  words,  return  to  the  original  inten- 
tion of  their  ecclesiastical  constitution,  were  represented  as 
extravagant  radicals. 

The  translation  of  'Dr.  Thomson  to  a  prominent  church  in 
Edinburgh,  and  the  conversion  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  gave  a  new 
strength  to  the  evangelical  party.  The  herculean  labors  of  the 
latter  in  Glasgow,  and  of  the  former  in  the  metropolis,  enlisted 
much  of  the  best  intellect  of  both  cities,  and  extended  their 
influence  to  large  numbers  who  never  listened  to  the  sound  of 
his  voice.  Dr.  Chalmers's  career  afterward,  as  a  professor, 
operated  still  more  directly  in  changing  the  state  of  feeling 
among  the  ministers  of  the  church.  The  strength  of  the  evan- 
gelical party  continued  rapidly  to  increase,  and  that  increase 
both  those  great  men  tested  from  year  to  year  by  the  proposal 
of  various  and  gradual  measures  of  improvement,  some  of 
which,  as  those  regarding  ministerial  education  and  pluralities, 
have  already  been  mentioned.  The  grand  test,  however,  was 
that  of  the  settlement  of  ministers,  and  although  the  gradual 
increase  of  their  number,  was  a  motive  with  the  evangeli- 
cal party,  for  putting  ofl"  the  consideration  of  that  question 
antil  the  time,  which  seemed  near  at  hand,  when  it  could  be 


268  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

settled  according  to  their  views  with  httle  resistance,  the  state 
of  pubHc  feehng  would  suffer  it  to  be  postponed  no  longer. 
The  dissatisfaction  was  not  like  that  of  the  ignorant  rabble,  to 
be  silenced  by  the  strong  arm  of  force,  it  was  that  of  the  best 
and  wisest  in  the  land,  with  whom  force  could  avail  only  to 
drive  into  more  cautious  and  effective  means  of  attaining  their 
end.  A  society  had  been  constituted  sometime  previously, 
under  the  auspices  of  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  for  the  purpose 
of  buying  up  the  rights  of  presentation,  but  had  latterly 
changed  its  ground  to  that  of  requiring  the  entire  abolition  of 
patronage,  in  which  it  was  extensively  sustained  by  the  voice  of 
the  public.  Another  society  was  framed,  called  the  Voluntary 
Church  Association,  with  the  design  of  working  the  overthrow 
of  all  religious  establishments.  The  number  of  petitions  sent 
into  Parliament  begging  the  interference  of  the  legislative  au- 
thority in  this  matter  gave  occasion  to  the  appointment  of  a 
Parliamentary  Committee  of  Inquiry.  It  had  distinctly  be- 
come necessary  to  the  very  existence  of  the  Scottish  Establish- 
ment to  remove  the  abuses  connected  with  patronage. 

Dr.  Chalmers  seeing  clearly  that  the  final  adjustment  of  the 
difl&culty  could  not  be  much  longer  postponed,  prepared  him- 
self by  careful  study  of  all  its  points  and  relations,  for  his 
part  in  the  coming  discussion.  As  had  been  expected,  the 
consideration  of  the  subject  was  urged  upon  the  Assembly  of 
1833,  by  still  greater  weight  of  authority  than  before,  no  less 
than  forty-two  of  the  inferior  courts  of  the  church  having  over- 
tured  respecting  it ;  and  so  strong  had  the  non-intrusion  party 
become,  that  nothing  but  union  among  themselves,  upon  a 
specific  measure,  was  necessary  to  carry  it. 

The  course  which  Dr.  Chalmers  deemed  the  best,  and  which 
he  laid  before  a  private  meeting  of  influential  ministers,  held 
prior  to  the  sitting  of  the  Assembly,  was  for  the  church  simply  to 
lecur  to  the  original  intention  of  the  existing  plan,  and,  instead 
of  giving  undue  weight  to  the  presentation,  by  a  series  of  acts, 
to  continue  to  give  proper  importance  to  the  call  of  the  people, 
until  the  non-intrusion  principle  should  be  fairly  established  by 
precedent.  Thus,  all  question  of  right  and  of  legislation  would 


iET.  53.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  269 

be  avoided.  The  present  emergency,  however,  was  too  urgent 
for  a  plan  of  such  slow  development,  and  it  was  not  adopted. 
Instead  of  it,  they  resolved  to  propose  **  that  by  some  act  of 
legislation  controlling  the  proceedings  of  the  inferior  courts,/ 
the  General  Assembly  should  at  once  establish  a  uniform  prac-/ 
tice."  His  second  proposal  was,  that,  concurrently  with  their 
own  legislation,  application  should  be  made  to  the  government, 
so  that  the  civil  sanction  might  be  conferred  upon  their  act. 
This,  from  deference  to  the  opinion  of  that  eminent  lawyer  and 
friend  of  the  Scottish  Church,  Lord  Moncrieff,  who  asserted 
that  it  was  undoubtedly  within  the  legalized  functions  of  the 
church  to  deal  with  the  matter  as  proposed,  he  also  yielded, 
though  he  afterward  regretted  that  he  had  done  so.  As  to 
the  particular  act  of  legislation  to  be  proposed,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  expressed  "  dissent  of  the  majority  of  the  parishioners 
should  be  held  as  a  bar  to  settlement."  The  measure  thus 
agreed  upon  was  committed  to  Dr.  Chalmers  to  bring  before 
the  General  Assembly.  In  his  speech  on  that  occasion,  he  en- 
deavored to  reconcile  the  opponents  of  patronage,  and  to  bring 
into  the  very  temperate  measure,  which  he  sustained,  those 
of  his  own  party  who  would  have  preferred  something  more 
radical.  After  directing  some  remarks  against  the  system  of 
popular  election,  he  proceeded  :  "I  am  aware  of  the  theoreti- 
cal partiality  which  many  of  my  friends  have  for  the  whole 
system  of  our  ministerial  appointments  being  out-and-out  eccle- 
siastical, which  it  would  be  if,  as  by  the  Act  of  Assembly 
1649,  the  nomination  were  vested  in  the  session,  and  the  power 
of  objecting  in  the  people,  and  the  final  judgment,  where  these 
two  parties  were  at  variance,  in  the  Presbytery.  Even  the 
Act  of  Parliament  1690,  by  which  the  nomination  is  vested, 
not  in  the  elders  alone,  but  in  the  elders  and  heritors,  might  be 
accommodated  to  this  theory  by  the  single  qualification  of  her- 
itors being  communicants.  Whether  the  same  qualification 
applied  to  our  existing  patrons,  that  they  should  be  in  commu- 
nion with  the  church,  and  so  within  our  own  ecclesiastical  pale, 
and  under  our  own  ecclesiastical  control — whether  this  would 
reconcile  them  more  to  the  present  system  of  patronage,  I  do 


270  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

not  know.  But  however  much  we  may  differ  respecting  the 
initiative,  I  not  only  feel  inclined  to  go  as  far,  but  would  even 
go  further  than  the  advocates,  either  for  the  Act  of  Parliament 
1690,  or  for  the  Act  of  Assembly  1649,  respecting  the  safe- 
guard or  the  check.  The  great  complaint  of  our  more  ancient 
Assemblies,  the  great  burden  of  Scottish  indignation,  the  prac- 
tical grievance  which,  of  all  others,  has  been  hitherto  felt  the 
most  intolerable  and  galling  to  the  hearts  of  a  free  and  reli- 
gious people,  is  the  violent  intrusion  of  ministers  upon  par- 
ishes. An  effectual  provision  against  this  enormity,  this 
unfeeling  outrage,  which,  in  the  exercise  of  a  reckless  and 
unprincipled  patronage  has  so  often  been  perpetrated  in  our 
beloved  land,  an  outrage  by  the  appointment  of  an  ungodly 
pastor  on  the  rights  of  conscience  and  the  religious  sensibilities 
of  a  sorely  aggrieved  people,  a  provision  against  so  deep  and  so 
wide  a  moral  injury  as  this  to  the  families  of  a  parish,  I  should 
feel  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  legislative  expedients  or  de- 
vices which  could  be  proposed  on  the  present  occasion,  and 
would  welcome  it  all  the  more  cordially  if  we  had  not  to  go  in 
quest  of  it  without  the  limits  of  our  actual  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution, or,  in  other  words,  if  instead  of  enacting  a  new  law 
we  had  but  to  declare  our  interpretation  of  an  old  one.  Now 
the  law  of  Calls  places  such  a  facihty  in  our  hands  ;  and,  as  I 
feel  I  must  not  take  up  the  time  of  the  Assembly,  let  me  state 
at  once,  and  without  further  preamble,  my  own  preference  as 
to  the  best  way  of  restoring  significancy  and  effect  to  this  now 
antiquated,  but  still  venerable  form — and  this  is  by  holding  the 
call  a  solid  one  which  lies,  not  in  the  expressed  consent  of  the 
few,  and  these  often  the  mere  driblet  of  a  parish  ;  but  larger 
than  this,  which  lies  in  the  virtual  or  implied  consent  of  the 
majority,  and  to  be  gathered  from  their  non-resistance  or  their 
J  silence.  In  other  words,  I  would  have  it  that  the  majority  of 
I  dissentient  voices  should  lay  a  veto  on  every  presentation. 
**  In  this  power  of  a  negative  on  the  part  of  the  people  there 
is  nothing  new  in  the  constitution  or  practice  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  It  is  the  great  barrier,  in  fact,  set  up  by  the  wisdom 
of  our    forefathers   against    the    intrusion   of   ministers   into 


-ET.  58.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS  271 

parishes.  It  could  make  no  appearance  in  the  First  Book  of 
Discipline  1560,  where  it  was  provided  that  the  people  should 
have  the  initiative,  or  that  the  ministers  should  be  appointed, 
not  with  their  consent,  but  by  their  election.  But  after  the 
probation  of  eighteen  years,  we  have  the  Second  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline 1578,  where  the  election  is  made  to  proceed  by  the 
judgment  of  the  eldership  and  with  the  consent  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  care  is  expressed  that  *  no  person  be  intrusit 
contrar  to  the  will  of  the  congregation  or  without  the  voice  of 
the  eldership.'  This  interdict  by  the  people  is  further  recog- 
nized and  ratified  in  the  Act  of  Assembly  1649,  and  of  Par- 
liament 1690.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  appropriate,  the  counterpart 
remedy  against  the  evil  of  intrusion.  If  we  hear  little  of  the 
application  or  actual  exercise  of  this  remedy  during  the  times 
it  was  in  force,  it  was  because  of  a  great  excellence,  even  that 
pacific  property  which  belongs  to  it  of  acting  by  a  preventive 
operation.  The  initial  step  was  so  taken  by  the  one  party  as 
to  anticipate  the  gainsayers  in  the  other.  The  goodness  of  the 
first  appointment  was,  in  the  vast  majority  of  instances,  so  un- 
questionable as  to  pass  unquestioned  ;  and  so  this  provision, 
by  its  reflex  influence,  did  then  what  it  would  do  still — it  put 
an  end  to  the  trade  of  ao-itation.  Those  village  demap-ooues, 
the  spokesmen  and  oracles  of  a  parish,  whose  voice  is  fain  for 
war,  that,  in  the  heat  and  hubbub  of  a  parochial  eftervescence, 
they  might  stir  up  the  element  they  love  to  breathe  in,  disap- 
pointed of  their  favorite  game  by  a  nomination  which  com- 
pelled the  general  homage,  had  to  sheathe  their  swords  for 
lack  of  argument.  It  was  like  the  beautiful  operation  of  those 
balancing  and  antagonist  forces  in  nature  which  act  by  pressure 
and  not  by  collision,  and  by  means  of  an  energy  that  is  mighty 
but  noiseless,  maintain  the  quiescence  and  stability  of  our  phy- 
sical system.  And  it  is  well  when  the  action  and  reaction  of 
these  moral  forces  can  be  brought  to  bear  with  the  same  con- 
servative efl'ect  on  each  other  in  the  world  of  mind,  whether  it 
be  in  the  great  world  of  the  state,  or  in  the  little  world  of  a 
parish.  And  the  truth,  the  historical  truth,  in  spite  of  all  the 
disturbances  and  distemper  which    are    associated   with    the 


272  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

movements  of  the  populace,  is,  that  turbulence  and  disorder 
were  then  let  loose  upon  the  land,  when  this  check  of  the  popular 
will  was  removed  from  the  place  it  had  in  our  ecclesiastical 
constitution,  and  where  it  was  inserted  so  skillfully  by  the  wis- 
dom of  our  fathers,  that,  instead  of  acting  by  conflict,  or  as  a 
conflicting  element,  it  served  as  an  equipoise.  It  was  when  a 
high-handed  patronage  reigned  uncontrolled  and  without  a 
rival,  that  discord  and  dissent  multiplied  in  our  parishes.  The 
seasons  immediately  succeeding  to  1649,  and  1690,  when  the 
power  of  negation  was  lodged  with  the  people,  not,  however, 
as  a  force  in  exercise,  but  as  a  force  in  reserve — these  were  the 
days  of  our  church's  greatest  prosperity  and  glory,  the  seasons 
both  of  peace  and  of  righteousness.  Persecution  put  an  end 
to  the  one  period,  and  unrestricted  patronage  put  an  end  to  the 
other. 

"  But  the  last  element  in  the  composition  of  this  aff'air,  and 
to  which  I  have  scarcely  yet  adverted,  is  the  power  of  the 
church.  For  let  the  ancient  privilege  of  a  negation  be  again 
given  to  the  people,  and  there  will  come  to  be  a  tripartite  ope- 
ration ere  a  minister  shall  be  fully  admitted  into  a  parish — not 
a  business,  however,  immanageably  complex  on  that  account, 
else  whence  the  rapid,  and  smooth,  and  practicable  working 
of  the  British  Legislature  ?  And  here  the  question  at  once 
occurs,  whether  shall  the  objection  taken  to  the  presentee  by  the 
majority  of  the  people  be  submitted  for  review  to  the  Presby- 
tery, as  by  the  Acts  of  1649  and  1690,  or  shall  it  be  held  con- 
clusive so  as  without  judgment  by  us  to  set  aside  the  present- 
ation ?  My  preference  is  for  the  latter,  and  I  think  that  I  can 
allege  this  vahd  reason  for  it.  The  people  may  not  be  able  to 
state  their  objection,  save  in  a  very  general  way,  and  far  less 
be  able  to  plead  and  to  vindicate  it  at  the  bar  of  a  Presbytery, 
and  yet  the  objection  be  a  most  substantial  one  notwithstand- 
ing, and  such  as  ought,  both  in  all  christian  reason  and  chris- 
tian expediency,  to  set  aside  the  presentation.  I  will  not  speak 
of  the  moral  barrier  that  is  created  to  the  usefulness  of  a  min- 
ister by  the  mere  general  dislike  of  a  people — for  this,  though 
strong  at  the  outset,  may,  being  literally  a   prejudice  or  a 


^T.    53.  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  273 

groundless  judgment  beforehand,  give  way  to  the  experience 
of  his  worth  and  the  kindness  of  his  intercourse  among 
them.  But  there  is  another  dislike  than  to  the  person  of  a 
minister — a  dislike  to  his  preaching,  which  may  not  be  ground- 
less, even  though  the  people  be  wholly  incapable  of  themselves 
arguing  or  justifying  the  grounds  of  it — just  as  one  may  have 
a  perfectly  good  understanding  of  words,  and  yet,  when  put 
to  his  definitions,  not  be  at  all  able  to  explain  the  meaning  of 
them.  This  holds  pre-eminently  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  manifesting  its  own  truth  to  the  consciences  of  men, 
who  yet  would  be  utterly  nonplused  and  at  fault,  did  you  ask 
them  to  give  an  account  or  reason  for  their  convictions.  Such 
is  the  adaptation  of  Scripture  to  the  state  of  humanity  —  an 
adaptation  which  thousands  might  feel,  though  not  one  in  the 
whole  multitude  should  be  able  to  analyze  it.  When  under 
the  visitations  of  moral  earnestness,  when  once  brought  to  en- 
tertain the  question  of  his  interest  with  God,  and  conscience 
tells  of  his  yet  uncanceled  guilt,  and  his  yet  unprovided  eter- 
nity— even  the  most  illiterate  of  a  parish  might,  when  thus 
awakened,  not  only  feel  most  strongly,  but  perceive  most  intel- 
ligently and  soundly,  the  adjustment  which  obtains  between 
the  overtures  of  the  New  Testament  and  the  necessities  of  his 
own  nature.  And  yet,  with  a  conviction  thus  based  on  the 
doctrines  of  Scripture  and  the  depositions  of  his  own  conscious- 
ness, he,  while  fully  competent  to  discern  the  truth,  may 
be  as  incompetent  as  a  child  to  dispute  or  to  argument  it ;  and 
when  required  to  give  the  reasons  of  his  objection  to  a  minis- 
ter at  the  bar  of  his  Presbytery,  all  the  poor  man  can  say  for 
himself  might  be,  that  he  does  not  preach  the  Gospel,  or  that 
in  his  sermon  there  is  no  food  for  his  soul.  It  were  denying 
the  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  human  nature,  to  deny  that 
this  is  a  case  which  may  be  often  and  legitimately  realized. 
With  a  perfect  independence  on  the  conceits  and  the  follies,  and 
the  wayward  extravagance  or  humors  of  the  populace,  I  have, 
nevertheless,  the  profoundest  respect  for  all  those  manifesta- 
tions of  the  popular  feeling  which  are  founded  on  an  accordancy 
between  the  felt  state  of  human  nature  and  the  subject-matter 


274  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

of  the  Gospel.  But  in  very  proportion  to  my  sympathy  and 
my  depth  of  veneration  for  the  christian  appetency  of  such 
cottage  patriarchs,  would  be  the  painfulness  I  should  feel  when 
the  cross-questionings  of  a  court  of  review  were  brought  to 
bear  upon  them  ;  and  the  men,  bamboozled  and  bereft  of  utter- 
ance by  the  reasonings  which  they  could  not  redargue,  or,  per- 
haps, the  ridicule  which  they  could  not  withstand,  were  left  to 
the  untold  agony  of  their  own  hearts — because  within  the  Es- 
tablishment which  they  loved,  they  could  not  find,  in  its  Sab- 
bath ministrations  or  week-day  services,  the  doctrine  which 
was  dear  to  them.  To  overbear  such  men  is  the  highway  to 
put  an  extinguisher  on  the  Christianity  of  our  land — the  Chris- 
tianity of  our  plowmen,  our  artisans,  our  men  of  handicraft  and 
of  hard  labor  ;  yet  not  the  Christianity  theirs  of  deceitful  im- 
agination, or  of  implicit  deference  to  authority,  but  the  Chris- 
tianity of  deep,  I  will  add,  of  rational  belief,  firmly  and  pro- 
foundly seated  in  the  principles  of  our  moral  nature,  and  nobly 
accredited  by  the  virtues  of  our  well-conditioned  peasantry. 
In  the  olden  time  of  Presbytery — that  time  of  scriptural  Chris- 
tianity in  our  pulpits,  and  of  Psalmody  in  all  our  cottages  — 
these  men  grew  and  multiplied  in  the  land;  and  though  derided 
in  the  heartless  literature,  and  discountenanced  or  disowned  in 
the  heartless  pohtics  of  other  days,  it  is  their  remnant  which 
acts  as  a  preserving  salt  among  our  people,  and  which  consti- 
tutes the  real  strength  and  glory  of  the  Scottish  nation." 

The  eloquence  of  the  speaker  did  not  succeed  in  reconciling 
all  the  party  to  his  motion.  It  was  lost  by  a  majority  of  twelve 
against  it.  After  a  year  had  given  full  opportunity  for  deliber- 
ation, in  an  Assembly  of  which  Dr.  Chalmers  was  not  a  mem- 
ber, it  was  again  brought  forward  by  Lord  Moncreiff  and 
carried  by  a  majority  of  forty-six.  "Moulded  into  the  form  of 
an  'Overture  and  Interim  Act  on  Calls,"  Lord  MoncreifF's  mo- 
tion was  expressed  in  the  following  terms  : — ''Edinburgh,  May 
31,  1834. — The  General  Assembly  declare.  That  it  is  a  funda- 
mental law  of  the  church,  that  no  pastor  shall  be  intruded  into 
any  congregation  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  people  ;  and  in 
order  that  the  principle  may  be  carried  into  full  effect,  the 


^T.  53.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  275 

General  Assembly,  with  the  consent  of  a  majority  of  the  Pres- 
byteries of  this  church,  do  declare,  enact,  and  ordain,  that  it 
shall  be  an  instruction  to  Presbyteries,  that  if  at  the  moderat- 
ing in  a  call  to  a  vacant  pastoral  charge,  the  major  part  of  the 
male  heads  of  families,  members  of  the  vacant  congregation, 
and  in  full  communion  with  the  church,  shall  disapprove  of  the 
person  in  whose  favor  the  call  is  proposed  to  be  moderated  in, 
such  disapproval  shall  be  deemed  sufficient  ground  for  the 
Presbytery  rejecting  such  person,  and  that  he  shall  be  rejected 
accordingly,  and  due  notice  thereof  forthwith  given  to  all  con- 
cerned ;  but  that  if  the  major  part  of  the  said  heads  of  fami- 
lies shall  not  disapprove  of  such  person  to  be  their  pastor,  the 
Presbytery  shall  proceed  with  the  settlement  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  church :  And  further  declare,  that  no  person  shall 
be  held  to  be  entitled  to  disapprove,  as  aforesaid,  who  shall 
refuse,  if  required,  solemnly  to  declare  in  the  presence  of  the 
Presbytery,  that  he  is  actuated  by  no  factious  or  malicious  mo- 
tive, but  solely  by  a  conscientious  regard  to  the  spiritual  inter- 
ests of  himself  or  the  congregation." 

"  Such  was  the  Veto  Law.  Intended  as  a  final  and  pacify- 
ing measure,  it  was  proposed  after  the  maturest  deliberation. 
After  a  year's  interval,  in  the  course  of  which  it  was  subjected 
to  the  severest  scrutiny,  it  came  before  the  General  Assembly 
of  1834,  approved  by  the  most  eminent  legal  advice,  and  sanc- 
tioned by  the  authority  of  the  legal  and  political  advisers  of 
the  Crown  in  Scotland.  It  was  carried,  before  any  of  the 
chapel-ministers  had  been  introduced  into  the  church  courts, 
by  a  clear  majority  of  all  the  different  constituencies  of  which 
the  General  Assembly  is  composed  ;  and  two  months  after  its 
passage,  it  had  this  judgment  pronounced  upon  it  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  from  the  lips  of  Lord  Brougham,  at  that  time  Lord 
Chancellor  of  England  : 

"  '  My  Lords,  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  great  number  of  peti- 
tions from  a  most  respectable  portion  of  His  Majesty's  subjects 
in  the  northern  part  of  this  island,  all  referring  to  one  subject — 
I  mean  church  patronage  in  Scotland,  which  has  greatly  and 
powerfully  interested  the  people  of  Scotland  for  many  months 


276  LIFE   OF   DR.   CHALMERS.  1833. 

past,  and  respecting  the  expediency  of  some  change  in  which 
there  is  hardly  any  diflference  of  opinion  among  them.  The 
late  proceedings  in  the  General  Assembly  (viz.,  in  passing  the 
Veto  Law),  have  done  more  to  facilitate  the  adoption  of  meas- 
ures which  shall  set  that  important  question  at  rest,  upon  a 
footing  advantageous  to  the  community,  and  that  shall  be  safe 
and  beneficial  to  the  Establishment,  and  in  every  respect  desir- 
able, than  any  other  course  that  could  have  been  taken ;  for  it 
would  have  been  premature  if  the  Legislature  had  adopted 
any  measure  without  the  acquiescence  of  that  important  body, 
as  no  good  could  have  resulted  from  it.  I  am  glad  that  the 
wisdom  of  the  General  Assembly  has  been  devoted  to  this 
subject,  and  that  the  result  of  its  deliberations  has  been  these 
important  resolutions  (viz.,  the  Veto  Act),  which  were  passed 
at  the  last  meeting.'  " 


CHAPTEK   XIII. 

In  the  summer  of  1833,  Dr.  Chalmers  sought  the  recreation 
and  rest  from  intellectual  labor,  which  he  so  much  needed  in  a 
two  months'  tour  ;  one  object  of  which  was  the  gratification  of 
a  long  cherished  whim  of  seeing  and  ascending  to  the  top  of 
all  the  cathedrals  of  England.  The  records  of  that  tour  were 
contained  in  journal  letters  to  his  children,  constituting  some 
of  the  most  delightful  of  his  published  correspondence.  Thus 
to  his  daughter  Grace  he  describes  some  of  the  subterranean 
wonders  of  Derbyshire  :  "  After  breakfast,  ordered  the  gig, 
and  was  carried  to  the  Bagshaw  Cavern,  recently  discovered, 
and  full  of  crystallized  minerals,  stretching  along  the  walls  or 
depending  in  icicles  from  the  roof.  The  exploration  of  it  is 
very  fatiguing  ;  first,  the  descent  of  126  steps  under  the  earth; 
second,  a  passage  often  narrow  and  requiring  a  very  low  stoop; 
third  ;  steps  and  scrambles  to  the  lateral  cavities  that  we  meet 
with  on  our  way.  This  is  perhaps  the  greatest  natural  curi- 
osity in  Derbyshire,  though  more  of  a  scientific  than  spec- 
tacular character  ;  and  this,  combined  with  its  difficulty  of 
access  and  distance  from  the  inn  causes  it  to  be  less  frequented. 
The  poor  man  who  shows  it  is  evidently  a  man  of  talent  and 
humor — has  seen  better  days,  and  wrote  an  account  of  his 
cave  which  is  now  all  sold  off.  He  tells  me  that  it  was  an 
elaborate  work,  and  written  with  more  humor  than  was  ever 
brought  into  play  before  on  any  subterranean  subject,  and  that 
it  has  gained  him  a  great  reputation.  He  begged  me  to  speak 
in  favor  of  his  cavern,  which  was  too  little  visited.  Its  great 
peculiarity  is,  that  out-and-out  it  is  completely  natural,  not  a 
tool  being  lifted  within  it,  save  in  the  construction  of  its  de- 
scending steps.  In  one  place  the  passage  widens  into  a  chamber 
called  paradise,  all  in  a  sparkle  with  large  and  beautiful 
crystals,  then  contracts  again,  and  winds  laterally  and  by  a 

(277) 


278  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS. 


1833. 


scrambling  ascent  into  another  chamber,  at  least  equal  to  the 
former  and  more  lofty,  called  Calypso's  Cave,  then  terminates 
in  a  third,  which,  though  it  receiv^es  no  name,  is  nearly  as 
good  as  the  two  former.  Walked  our  fatiguing  way  back  again 
and  welcomed  the  light  of  day.  We  had  three  candles,  each 
of  us  holding  one.  I  should  have  mentioned  that  I  had  to  put 
on  another  coat  and  hat  at  the  guide's  house  ;  and  a  worse 
coat  or  worse  hat  I  never  saw  on  the  back  or  head  of  any 
carter  or  scavenger  in  the  land,  insomuch  that  I  was  a  spectacle 
to  the  children  of  the  village,  who  shouted  and  laughed  behind 
me  ;  and  even  the  driver  of  my  gig,  though  a  grave,  silent,  and 
simple  lad  of  twenty-two,  could  not  restrain  his  merriment. 
By  the  way,  though  it  is  a  little  more  expensive,  I  always  take 
him  to  the  sights  along  with  me  ;  first,  because  I  found  a  great 
ignorance  of  Derbyshire  curiosities  in  Huddersfield,  and  I  want 
to  make  him  more  enlightened  and  enlarged  than  his  fellow- 
citizens  ;  second,  because  I  always  feel  a  strong  reflex  or 
secondary  enjoyment  in  the  gratifications  of  other  people,  so 
that  the  sympathy  of  his  enjoyment  greatly  enhances  my  own  ; 
and  thirdly,  because  I  get  amusement  from  the  remarks  of  his 
simple  wonderment  and  not  very  sagacious  observation  ;  and 
it  has  now  passed  into  a  standing  joke  with  me,  when  leaving 
any  of  our  exhibitions,  that  '  there  is  no  such  fine  sight  to  be 
seen  at  Huddersfield.'  Drove  back  to  the  inn  at  Castleton, 
where  after  a  short  excursion  to  the  castle  immediately  above 
the  Peak  Cavern  (and  which,  by  the  way,  belonging  of  old  to 
the  Knights  of  Peveril,  gave  birth  to  Sir  Walter's  novel  of 
*  Peveril  of  the  Peak'),  I  dined  about  three.  After  dinner, 
I  walked  with  my  companion  of  the  gig  to  Speedwell  Mine, 
a  very  noble  curiosity,  where,  after  a  descent  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth  of  106  steps,  we  entered  a  boat  which  carried  us 
along  a  subterranean  canal  of  nearly  a  mile,  one  half  of  which 
only  is  described  by  us.  We  have  a  regular  archway  over  our 
heads,  cut  out  for  the  convenience  of  the  miners,  and  which 
still  remains  though  the  work  is  abandoned.  The  two  boatmen 
propel  us  by  pushing  with  their  hands  against  the  sides  of  the 
tunnel.     They  placed  some  candles  along  the  tunnel  on  each 


MT,  53.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  279 

side  near  the  entrance,  and  which  were  seen  by  us  all  the  way, 
and  with  their  reflection  in  the  water  had  a  very  pretty  and 
pleasing  eff'ect — at  the  distance  of  nearly  half  a  mile  they 
shrunk  into  the  appearance  of  distant  stars.  But  how  shall  I 
describe  the  scene  at  the  termination  of  our  voyage? — a  scene 
to  the  description  of  which  I  fear  that  even  your  pen  would  be 
inadequate,  yea,  even  in  its  sublimest  mood,  when  set  to  an 
exercise  in  composition  that  shall  bear  oft'  the  palm  of  victory 
from  all  your  class-fellows.  The  canal  is  crossed  about  half 
way  by  a  mighty  chasm  which  reaches  to  an  unknown  height 
above  us,  and  an  unknown  depth  beneath  us.  An  arch  has 
been  thrown  over  it  on  which  we  alight  at  the  termination  of 
the  first  half  of  the  canal,  and  might,  if  we  so  chose,  pass  on 
to  the  second  half,  and  be  carried  forward  in  a  boat  another 
quarter  of  a  mile.  But  as  it  is  just  the  same  with  the  last 
quarter  of  a  mile,  we  therefore  go  no  further  than  to  this  arch, 
guarded  by  a  strong  iron  railing  to  keep  us  from  being  preci- 
pitated into  the  mysterious  abyss  below.  Here  we  stood  ;  and 
as  we  were  under  a  hill  many  hundred  feet  high,  there  was 
room  for  an  altitude  above  our  heads  of  invisible  termination, 
while  the  termination  of  the  horrible  pit  beneath  our  feet  was 
alike  invisible.  Down  this  tremendous  chasm  there  thundered 
a  roaring  water-fall ;  and  we  were  furnished  with  blue  lights  that 
we  might  be  enabled  to  trace  its  way  as  far  as  possible.  The 
man  ascended  a  ladder  along  the  side  of  the  cataract,  and 
placed  a  gunpowder  preparation  on  one  of  the  crannies,  which 
blazed  and  sparkled  and  shot  up  gleams  of  illumination  for 
several  minutes,  which  left  unrevealed,  however,  the  roof  that 
was  over  us.  And  then  more  fearfully  glorious  still,  he  des- 
cended a  ladder  and  placed  another  light  beneath  us,  and  by 
the  side  of  the  foaming  cataract,  which  shed  momentary  radi- 
ance far  and  wide  and  deep  among  the  Plutonic  recesses  of 
this  scene  of  wonders,  but  left  the  secret  of  its  bottom  untold. 
I  never  took  in  so  powerful  an  impression  by  the  eye  from  any 
spectacle  as  from  this  last  one,  though  the  one  above  us  too 
was  particularly  fine.  Sky-rockets  have  been  thrown  up  with- 
out reaching  the  roof,  or  bringing  it  within  the  observation  of 


280  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

human  eyes.  We  returned  from  this  impressive  scene  in  the 
boat,  and  by  the  way  put  fire  to  a  blast  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  our  entertainment,  Avhen,  after  passing  it  for  a  few 
minutes,  it  whizzed  and  exploded  with  a  noise  which  made  the 
vaulted  tunnel  to  ring  and  reverberate  all  over.  And  could 
I  describe  the  effect  with  the  eloquence,  or  in  the  terms  of  a 
boarding-school  Miss,  I  would  say  that  such  a  roar  of  cannon- 
ading never  bellowed  or  bounded  so  majestically  on  the  audi- 
tory organs  of  awe-struck  and  astonished  hearers.  When  we 
made  our  egress  up  the  steps  and  again  returned  to  the  light 
of  day,  I  made  my  gig  driver  acknowledge,  and  I  am  sure  with 
perfect  sincerity,  that  *  no  such  thing  is  to  be  seen  or  heard  at 
Huddersfield.'  Returned  to  the  inn  at  Castleton.  Took  our 
gig  there  and  drove  on  to  Bakewell,  fourteen  miles  distant, 
over  a  fine  upland  country,  but  which  at  length  on  our  ap- 
proach to  Bakewell,  on  the  banks  of  the  Wye,  assumed  another 
character,  and  presented  a  very  fine  specimen  of  English 
comfort  and  beauty.  Got  at  Bakewell  into  a  spacious,  elegant, 
but  withal  most  civil  and  comfortable  inn,  under  the  sign  of  the 
Rutland  Arms,  a  little  after  eight.  Was  ushered  into  a  very 
snug  sitting-room,  with  a  bedroom  immediately  off  it,  and  went 
to  my  needful  repose  between  ten  and  eleven.  I  am,  my  dear 
Grace,  yours  most  affectionately.         "  Thomas  Chalmers. '* 

After  visiting  the  magnificent  seat  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire 
at  Chatsworth,  and  what  he  felt  to  be  more  impressive  in  its 
old  baronial  grandeur,  the  noble  residence  of  Kedlestone,  he 
proceeded  to  London  and  then  to  Cambridge,  where  he  de- 
clared himself  dizzied  with  the  number  of  introductions  to  men 
of  eminence  in  science  and  learning.  His  interest  in  the  old 
universities  of  England  amounted  to  enthusiasm,  and  his 
reception  by  the  learned  men  then  resident  in  Cambridge,  and 
some  of  whom  still  continue  to  adorn  it,  must  have  been  highly 
gratifying.  Thus,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Chalmers,  he  writes  of 
one  of  those  pleasant  days:  "Professor  Sedgwick  sent 
me  a  message  that  he  would  accompany  me  to  breakfast 
with    Professor    Airy,   who  lived   a  mile    from    Cambridge, 


JET.    58.  LIFE   OF    DB.    CHALMERS.  281 

at  the  Observatory.     Had  a  delightful  walk  with  him  thith- 
erward.     He  took  me  to  the  roof  of  the   Observatory,  and 
explained  to  me   all  its  chief    instruments.     Breakfasted  with 
the  very  elites  of  the  nation  in  philosophy  —  Sir  John   Her- 
scBel,  Sir  David  Brewster,  men  from  Oxford,  men  from  Cam- 
bridge, etc.     A   celebrated  optician    showed  us  some  experi- 
ments, after  breakfast,  in  his  department.     Took  a  cordial  leave 
of  his  party  at  eleven.     Walked  to  Cambridge  well  accom- 
panied.    Met   a  letter  brought  by  a  messenger,  on  the  way, 
from  Professor  Forbes,  who  had  tried  to  find  me  out,  but  could 
not,  among  the    assembled  hundreds  the  night  before.     Dis- 
turbed by  learning   from   Mr.   Sedgwick   that  at   the   public 
dinner   to-day  the  Universities  of  Scotland  were  to  be  drunk, 
and   that  I   was   expected   to   reply.     This  set  me  conning  a 
speech.     Went  to  hear   what  was  going  on  in  the  Section  of 
Physics.      Saw    Professor   Forbes    there,  and   heard   on   the 
subject   of  light    the    argumentations  of  Herschel   and  Airy. 
After  the  work  of  the  Sections  was  finished  we  had  our  con- 
cluding general  meeting  in  the    Senate  Hall,  quite  filled  with 
ladies  and  students  ;  and  on  the  elevated  platform,  around  the 
President's   chair,  a  brilliant  assemblage  both  of  aristocratic 
and  literary  grandees.     I  was  beckoned  to  go  among  them, 
and  sat  immediately  behind  the  President,  and  by  the  side  of 
Dr.  Lloyd  of  Trinity  College,   Dublin.     After  the  Report  had 
been  read  we  had  many  speeches,  from  Lord  Fitzwilliam,  the 
Marquis  of  Northampton,  Dr.  Robinson  of  Dublin,  etc.,  the  last 
named  of  whom  delighted  me  with    his  defense  of  the  high 
mathematics  in  opposition  to  a  remark  of  Lord  Fitzwilliam  on 
the   Reports  being  too   abstruse   for  the  comprehension  of  a 
general    audience.      At  the    breaking  up  of  the   meeting  had 
many  greetings,   from  Mr.  Malthus,  his  lady,  and  daughter, 
Dr.  Buckland  of  Oxford,  whom  I  knew  before,  Dr.  Somerville, 
the  husband  of  the  famous  authoress,  etc.     Transferred  our- 
selves to  the  dining-hall  of  Trinity  College,  where  sat  at  least 
six  hundred.     My  ticket  took  me  to  table  A,  near  the  Presi- 
dent, where  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  within  conversation 
of    Mr.    Malthus.      Much  noble   speaking,    chiefly   from   the 
24 


282  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

President  Sedgwick,  Marquis  of  North ampton,  Brunei,  Buck- 
land,  Vernon,  son  to  the  Archbishop  of  York,  whom  we  met 
when  we  were  together  in  London,  etc.  When  our  Universities 
were  given,  the  chairman  delivered  a  very  high  personal  eulogy 
on  myself,  and  nothing  could  exceed  the  deafening  reception 
which  I  met  with.  The  burden  of  my  short  speech  was  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  a  pupil  of  this  College  ;  and  my  toast  was, 
"  Trinity  College,  and  long  may  the  science  of  Newton,  and 
the  Christianity  of  Newton,  be  enshrined  within  her  walls."  I 
was  received  with  great  partiality  and  favor  ;  and  whereas 
there  is  a  dread  in  such  a  mixed  company  of  philosophers  of 
any  allusion  to  Christianity,  my  pointed  allusion  to  the  sacred 
faith  and  philosophy  of  Newton  was  received  with  a  cordiality 
which  nothing  could  exceed.  Brunei's  speech  kept  them  in  a 
roar  of  laughter  for  half  an  hour,  though  neither  he  nor  any 
of  us  could  reach  perhaps  to  more  than  half  the  company. 
When  we  broke  up,  walked  about  with  Mr.  Jones,  Professor  of 
Pohtical  Economy,  King's  College  ;  then  called  on  Mr.  Simeon, 
by  whom  I  was  very  kindly  received  ;  then  met  in  his  room  at 
Trinity  the  son  of  Mr.  Hoare,  of  Hampstead  Heath,  who  had 
made  himself  known  to  me  before  ;  along  with  him  were 
Mr.  Perry,  senior  wrangler,  and  Mr.  Goulburn,  son  to  the 
quondam  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer.  Talked  congenially 
with  them,  and  walked  with  the  young  men  in  moonlight 
among  the  courts  and  cloistered  beauties  of  Trinity  College. 
Ever  beheve  me,  my  dearest  Grace,  yours  most  affectionately. 

"  Thomas  Chalmers." 

Returning  to  London  he  visited  the  House  of  Commons  and 
met  with  several  of  the  legislative  notorieties,  among  whom,  in  a 
letter  to  his  daughter  Anne,  he  specially  mentions  Mr.  Daniel 
0*Connell,  **  who,"  he  says,  "  shook  me  most  cordially  by 
the  hand,  complimenting  me  on  my  evidence  about  the  Irish 
Poor-Laws,  saying  that  he  was  a  disciple  of  mine  upon  that 
subject,  and  not  of  his  own  priest.  Dr.  Doyle  ;  and  I,  on  the 
other  hand,  glad  of  good  being  done  whatever  quarter  it 
came  from,  and  knowing  him  to  be  an  influential  personage. 


iET.  53.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  283 

expressed  myself  much  gratified  with  the  view  that  he  had  taken 
on  that  question.  I  am  sure  it  would  have  done  your  heart 
much  good  to  have  seen  how  closely  and  cordially  Mr.  Daniel 
O'Connell  and  your  papa  hugged  and  greeted  each  other  in 
the  Lower  House  of  Parliament." 

After  visiting  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury,  he  went  to  King- 
ston with  Mr.  Bartlett,  the  rector,  of  whom  he  writes  :  "  On 
the  whole,  he  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  and  intelligent  per- 
sons I  have  met  with  among  the  clergy  of  England.  I  stand 
indebted  to  him  for  three  high  gratifications — first,  in  that  his 
lady  is  the  great-grandniece  of  Bishop  Butler,  author  of  the 
Analogy  and  Sermons;  and  through  her  he  is  in  possession  of 
certain  of  this  great  man's  relics,  which  he  showed  me  and  put 
into  my  hands,  as  a  snuff-box  of  antique  fabrication,  and  a 
small  jotting-book  for  the  receipts  and  other  little  transactions 
of  his  clerical  office  ;  and  lastly,  a  Greek  New  Testament  with 
his  annotations,  all  in  his  own  handwriting,  and  on  which  last 
Mr.  Bartlett  did  me  the  honor  of  asking  me  to  record  in  my 
handwriting,  the  opinion  I  had  of  this  great  champion  of 
Christianity.  Second,  less  than  a  mile  from  Mr.  Bartlett's  par- 
sonage-house, is  the  church  and  house  where  the  great  Hooker 
lived  and  labored  and  died.  Thither  we  went,  though  in  a 
pour  of  rain,  and  entered  the  church,  where  we  saw  his  burial- 
place  and  monument,  as  also  the  house  where  he  spent  so  many 
years  of  his  life,  and  breathed  his  last." 

A  week  more  was  spent  **  in  the  very  thick  of  London  so- 
ciety," at  the  end  of  which  he  took  his  way  to  Norwich.  At 
the  outskirts  of  Ipswich,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bridges  was  in  waiting 
for  him  with  his  gig  and  took  him  to  his  own  house.  Of  Mr. 
Bridges'  family  he  remarks  :  "  The  breath  of  heaven  is  here  ; 
without,  a  scene  of  beauty  that  to  the  eye  of  sense  is  altogether 
delicious — and  within,  a  sanctuary  of  love  and  holiness.  After 
breakfast  took  me  to  an  adjoining  field,  where,  under  the  foliage 
of  a  spreading  tree,  the  infant  school  was  assembled.  I  was 
asked  to  address  them,  and  did  it.  Mrs.  Bridges  visits  the 
houses  of  the  parish  with  the  view  to  a  Christian  effect,  and  is 
a  mighty  help  to  her  husband.     He  took  me  to  his  church  and 


284:  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

a  few  of  his  cottages,  and  I  never  witnessed  such  closeness  and 
efficiency  of  pastoral  work  as  he  exemplified  in  his  addresses 
to  the  mothers  of  families.  He  makes  a  real  business  both  of 
the  Christianity  of  his  own  soul  and  the  Christianity  of  his 
family  and  parish,  watching  over  the  souls  of  all  as  one  who 
must  give  an  account." 

Mr.  Bridges  took  Dr.  Chalmers  to  the  house  of  Mr.  J.  J. 
Gurney.  Of  his  visit  to  that  excellent  quaker  family,  **  an 
abode,"  as  he  has  himself  called  it,  "  of  friendship  and  piety,'* 
we  cannot  withhold  an  extract  or  two  :  **  Mr.  Bridges  left  us, 
but  not  without  leaving  on  my  heart  a  profound  sense  of  his 
christian  devotedness  and  worth.  After  he  went  out,  Mrs. 
Francis  Cunningham,  the  lady  of  one  of  our  best  Enghsh  cler- 
gymen, came  in,  and  has  been  an  inmate  during  my  abode  at 
Earlham.  She  is  sister  to  Mr.  Gurney,  and  is  really  a  very 
attractive  person,  for  simplicity,  and  christian  principle,  and 
elegant  accomplishment,  and  Avithal  high  intelligence  and  cul- 
tivation. But  last  of  all,  another  lady,  who  dined  and  spent 
the  night — now  aged  and  in  quaker  attire,  which  she  had  but 
recently  put  on,  and  who  in  early  life  was  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  our  literary  women,  whose  works,  thirty  years 
ago,  I  read  with  great  delight — no  less  a  person  than  the  cele- 
brated Mrs.  Opie,  authoress  of  the  most  exquisite  feminine 
tales,  and  for  which  I  used  to  place  her  by  the  side  of  Miss 
Edgeworth.  It  was  curious  to  myself,  that  though  told  by  Mr. 
Gurney,  in  the  morning  of  her  being  to  dine,  I  had  forgot  the 
circumstance,  and  the  idea  of  the  accomplished  novelist  and 
poet  was  never  once  suggested  by  the  image  of  this  plain  look- 
ing Quakeress,  till  it  rushed  upon  me  after  dinner,  when  it 
suddenly  and  inconceivably  augmented  the  interest  I  felt  in 
her.  We  had  much  conversation,  and  drew  greatly  together, 
walking  and  talking  with  each  other  on  the  beautiful  lawn  after 
dinner.  She  has  had  access  into  all  kinds  of  society,  and  her 
conversation  is  all  the  more  rich  and  interesting.  I  complained 
to  her  of  one  thing  in  Quakerism,  and  that  is,  the  mode  of  their 
introductions  :  that  I  could  have  recognized  in  3frs.  Ojne,  an 
acquaintance  of  thirty  years'  standing,  but  that  I  did  not  and 


JET.  53.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  285 

could  not  feel  the  charm  of  any  such  reminiscence  when  Joseph 
John  simply  bade  me  lead  out  Amelia  from  his  drawing-room 
to  his  dining-room.  I  felt,  however,  my  new  acquaintance  with 
this  said  Amelia,  to  be  one  of  the  great  acquisitions  of  my 
present  journey  ;  and  this  union  of  rank,  and  opulence,  and 
literature,  and  polish  of  mind,  with  plainness  of  manners,  forms 
one  of  the  great  charms  of  the  society  in  this  house.  Had 
much  and  cordial  talk  all  evening  ;  a  family  exposition  before 
supper,  and  at  length  a  general  breaking  up,  somewhere  about 
eleven  o'clock,  terminated  this  day  at  once  of  delightful  recre- 
ation and  needful  repose. 

*'  Thomas  Chalmers." 

**  Saturday,  July  Tith. — Mrs.  Opie  left  us  early,  and  we 
parted  from  each  other  most  cordially.  Went  with  Mr.  Gurney 
in  his  carriage  to  Norwich — first  to  his  bank,  where  I  acquitted 
myself  with  all  proper  bows  and  civilities  of  pleasant  remark 
to  the  partners  and  other  members  of  the  establishment  whom 
I  was  brought  into  converse  with;  secondly,  through  the  town, 
ancient  and  respectable,  with  no  less  than  thirty-six  parish 
churches,  several  of  which  I  entered,  and  was  solemnized  by 
their  grandeur ;  thirdly,  to  the  castle,  around  whose  walls  we 
walked,  and  where  I  eyed  with  delight  the  number  of  ecclesi- 
astical towers  that  arose  from  the  general  mass  of  buildings  ; 
fourthly,  to  the  cathedral,  where  I  was  introduced  to  Prebend- 
ary Wodehouse,  who  took  charge  of  me,  and  conducted  me  in 
person  through  the  cathedral.  But  I  must  first  mention  the  call 
which  I  and  Mr.  Gurney  made  on  the  venerable  bishop,  now 
in  his  ninetieth  year.  He  received  us  with  great  courteousness; 
had  just  finished  the  reading  of  my  last  book,  which  he  com- 
plimented, and  gave  us  most  entertaining  anecdotes  of  other 
days,  and  I  felt  particularly  interested  in  his  personal  acquaint- 
anceship with  Bishop  Warburton.  We  stopped  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  with  the  venerable  old  prelate  —  a  perfect  gentleman, 
and  of  a  mild  and  benevolent  spirit,  and  great  suavity  withal. 
I  was  much  pleased  with  the  cathedral  and  its  precincts, 
through  which  Mr.  Wodehouse,  who  kept  by  me  for  two  hours. 


286  LIFE   OF    DE.    CHALMERS.  1888. 

conducted  me.  There  is  a  great  predominance  of  Saxon 
in  the  cathedral.  I,  as  usual,  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  dragged  the  Prebendary  after  me.  The  chief 
points  of  attraction  and  interest  are  the  cloisters,  beautifully- 
groined  ;  Erpingham's  gate,  an  entrance  to  one  of  the  courts 
of  the  cathedral,  with  a  small  and  graceful  sweep  of  arch,  and 
great  exquisiteness  without  exuberance  of  ornament ;  the 
tower,  perhaps  the  finest  part  of  the  general  building  ;  and, 
lastly,  the  monuments,  not  so  much  for  their  architecture, 
as  for  the  celebrity  of  the  men  to  whom  they  are  dedicated, 
being  no  less  than  Bishop  Hall,  Bishop  Home,  and  Dean 
Prideaux.'* 

Of  this  visit  to  Earlham,  Mr.  Gurney  has  preserved 
lengthened  memoranda,  from  which  we  give  the  following  ex- 
tracts : 

''Earlham,  1th  Month,  24th,  1833.  —  As  we  were  sitting  in 
the  drawing-room  rather  late  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  in- 
stant. Dr.  Chalmers  entered  with  our  friend,  Chas.  Bridges, 
Vicar  of  Long  Newton,  Suflfolk,  as  his  companion.  Dr.  Chal- 
mers is  a  man  peculiarly  susceptible  of  being  pleased — looking 
at  objects  which  surround  him  through  a  favorable  medium. 

*'  Chal.  '  I  have  been  traveling  through  Kent,  Essex,  and 
Suffolk,  and  now  through  Norfolk,  the  agricultural  garden  of 
England.  It  is  a  delightful  country — varied  in  its  surface,  and 
clothed  in  greenness.  As  to  the  moulding  and  statuary  of  the 
scenery,  we  excel  you  in  Scotland  ;  but  when  I  look  over  the 
fields  of  your  country,  I  seem  to  be  no  longer  looking  through 
my  naked  eye,  but  through  an  eye-glass,  tinged  with  green, 
which  throws  a  more  vivid  hue  over  nature  than  that  to  which 
I  am  accustomed.' 

*'  On  the  following  morning  we  conversed  on  the  subject  of 
the  great  minds  with  which  he  had  been  brought  into  contact. 
I  asked  him  who  was  the  most  talented  person  with  whom  he 
had  associated,  especially  in  power  of  conversation.  He  said 
Robert  Hall  was  the  greatest  proficient  he  had  known  as  a  con- 
verser,  and  spoke  in  high  terms  of  his  talents  and  of  his  preach- 
ing.    *  But,'  said  he,  *  I  think  Foster  is  of  a  higher  order  of 


^T.    58.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  287 

intellect ;  he  fetches  his  thoughts  from  a  deeper  spring  ;  he  is 
no  great  talker,  and  he  writes  very  slowly;  but  he  moves  along 
in  a  region  far  above  the  common  intellectual  level.  There  are 
passages  in  his  Essays  of  amazing  depth  and  beauty,  espe- 
cially in  that  on  *  Popular  Ignorance.'  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
however,  he  is  disposed  to  radicalism,  and  would  scarcely 
object  to  substitute  for  the  machinery  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge— those  endowed  seats  of  religion  and  learning — factories 
worked  by  steam.' 

**  In  the  course  of  the  morning,  Dr.  Chalmers  accompanied 
me  to  Norwich.  As  we  were  going  into  the  market-place,  he 
was  arrested  by  catching  a  view  of  the  steeple  of  *  St.  Peter 
Mancroft  Church,'  (as  it  is  called),  which  he  thought  a  noble 
structure.  He  is  fond  of  ecclesiastical  architecture;  and  it  was 
entertaining  to  observe  the  pleasure  which  he  enjoyed  while  we 
were  examining  the  building  without  and  within. 

"  The  next  objects  of  our  attention  were  the  hall  called  *  St. 
Andrew's'  originally  used  for  public  worship,  and  built  by  Sir 
Thomas  Erpingham,  as  a  penance  for  his  sins  ;  the  beautiful 
gateway  to  the  cathedral,  which  bears  the  name  and  image 
of  the  same  Sir  Thomas  ;  the  cathedral  itself,  of  which  the 
almost  unrivaled  tower  was  of  course  pointed  out  ;  and  the 
elegant  ruin  in  the  Bishop's  garden.  No  young  or  ardent 
traveler  could  derive  more  pleasure  from  such  sights  than  the 
doctor.  We  then  called  on  the  venerable  bishop,  now  in  his 
ninetieth  year,  and  very  delightful  was  our  interview.  The 
dear  old  man  was  in  good  heart  and  health,  reading  without 
spectacles,  hearing  without  the  smallest  difficulty,  and  able  to 
talk  with  his  old  vivacity.  He  was  evidently  much  animated 
by  seeing  Dr.  C;  on  the  other  hand.  Dr.  C.  was  charmed,  as 
well  he  might  be,  with  the  bishop. 

"  Bishop.  '  Dr.  Chalmers,  I  am  very  glad  to  be  introduced 
to  you;  I  have  just  been  reading  your  Bridgewater  Essay  with 
great  satisfaction.  I  am  especially  pleased  that  you  have  in- 
sisted so  much  on  the  views  of  Bishop  Butler,  whom  I  have 
always  reckoned  to  be  one  of  the  best  and  wisest  of  writers.* 


288  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1838. 

I  remarked,  that  it  was  strange  that  a  writer  of  so  Hberal  and 
comprehensive  a  cast  should  be  accused  of  Popery. 

"  Bishop.  *  There  is  no  ground  for  it  —  people  will  always 
call  names  ;  they  will  tell  you  (addressing  Dr.  C.  with 
a  smile),  that  my  friend  Joseph  here  is  a  wicked  fellow.' 
They  then  conversed  on  Dr.  Adam  Smith's  theory  of  moral 
sentiments. 

"  Bishop.  *  I  am  sorry  to  find  from  your  work,  that  his 
splendid  passage  respecting  the  necessity  of  a  mediator  was 
omitted  in  the  second  edition.' 

"  Chal.  '  The  omission  was  probably  owing  to  his  intimacy 
with  Hume.'  I  asked  the  bishop  whether  he  had  not  been  ac- 
quainted with  Hume. 

"  Bishop.  '0  yes,  I  used  to  meet  with  him  at  the  old  Lord 
Bathurst's  ;  he  was  fond  of  a  game  of  whist,  to  which  I,  too, 
had  no  objection,  and  we  have  sometimes  played  together.  He 
was  a  very  good-natured  man;  but  I  have  heard  him  say  cutting 
things  about  us — I  mean  the  clergy.' 

''  The  bishop  then  repeated  part  of  the  passage  from  Dr.  A. 
Smith,  with  peculiar  accuracy  and  feeling.  I  do  not  precisely 
recollect  whether  the  bishop  quoted  the  whole  of  this  extract  ; 
but  he  told  us,  that  the  passage  had  been  fixed  in  his  memory 
since  his  early  manhood.  When  he  afterward  spoke,  in  his 
usual  terms,  of  his  painlessness  of  body,  and  peace  of  mind, 
the  latter  more  particularly  was  adverted  to,  I  think,  by  Dr. 
Chalmers,  as  a  subject  of  especial  gratitude  and  satisfaction. 
*  The  more  so,'  I  added,  *  because  it  is  grounded,  as  I  trust, 
on  that  great  doctrine  of  Christianity,  to  which  even  Adam 
Smith  has  so  feelingly  alluded.'  '  Oh  yes,'  said  the  bishop, 
in  a  decided  and  emphatic  tone,  '  that  is  the  only  thing — there 
is  no  other  way.'  This  acknowledgment  precisely  corre- 
sponded with  what  I  had  before  heard  from  him,  and  was  very 
grateful  both  to  myself  and  to  Dr.  Chalmers.  The  bishop 
afterward  drew  a  lively  picture  of  the  talented  but  hot-headed 
Atterbury,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  who  was  well  known  to  his 
uncle,  Lord  Bathurst ;  and  also  of  the  mighty  Warburton,  in 


MT   53.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  289 

whose  diocese  he  had  once  held  a  Hving,  and  with  whom  he 
was  familiarly  acquainted.  He  described  him  a  giant  in  con- 
versation, and  a  fearless  champion  against  Hume  and  other 
infidels  ;  *I  have  no  liking  for  the  men,'  said  he,  *  and  no  fear 
of  their  talents.'  With  the  exception  of  Lord  Bathurst  and  a 
few  others,  he  indulged  in  a  sort  of  scorn  against  the  nobles  of 


mar 


6» 


the  land.  *  As  for  you  lords,'  said  he,  in  the  bishop's  hear 
*  your  venison  is  but  a  poor  repayment  for  the  fatigue  of  listen- 
ing to  your  conversation.'  I  suppose  that,  like  Johnson,  he 
imagined  himself  privileged  to  be  a  bear. 

"  Bishop.  '  His  wife,  too,  had  a  spirit  of  her  own — she  used 
to  call  her  husband  Brigadier  Moses  !' 

"  I  was  glad  to  hear  Chalmers  and  the  bishop  fully  accord- 
ing in  the  praise  of  Warburton's  'Julian,'  which  surely 
contains  important  and  specific,  though  somewhat  indirect,  ev- 
idence of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  After  our  friend  C.  W. 
had  conducted  the  doctor  to  some  others  of  our  ecclesiastical 
remains,  we  returned  home  to  dinner.  It  is  ahvays  pleasant 
to  watch  the  noble  expressions  of  Dr.  C.'s  countenance  ;  but 
he  is  often  very  quiet  in  a  large  party.  I  never  saw  a  man 
who  appeared  to  be  more  destitute  of  vanity,  or  less  alive  to 
any  wish  to  be  brilliant. 

"  In  the  course  of  Monday  morning  the  Doctor  and  I  walked 
down  to  a  fir  grove  at  the  extremity  of  the  park,  where  a 
colony  of  herons  have  lately  formed  a  settlement.  He  was  as 
much  interested  and  pleased  as  a  schoolboy  would  have  been 
in  watching  the  singular  appearance,  gestures,  and  sounds  of 
these  birds.  His  mind  seemed  quite  occupied  by  the  fitness 
between  the  length  of  their  necks  and  that  of  their  legs,  and 
also  by  the  circumstance,  that  as  they  swim  not,  but  only  stand 
in  the  waters,  they  do  not,  like  other  aquatic  birds,  require 
webs  to  their  feet — and  therefore  have  none. 

"  Chal.  '  The  great  fear  I  entertain  respecting  the  operation 
of  the  Reform  Bill  is,  lest  it  should  throw  the  legislative  power 
into  the  hands  of  men  of  business — already  full  of  all  kinds  of 
occupation — to  the  exclusion  of  men  who  have  leisure  for  deep 
study  and  reflection,  and  are  therefore  able  to  cope  with  great 
25 


290  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1838. 

principles  on  the  various  subjects  of  legislation.  There  is  a 
fine  passage  in  Ecclesiasticus,  on  the  danger  of  intrusting  with 
the  arcana  of  government,  men  whose  hearts  and  hands  are 
full  of  the  common  business  of  life.  I  wish  we  were  more 
alive  to  the  principles  which  are  there  unfolded.  It  is  an 
alarming  fact,  that  in  order  to  effect  a  paltry  saving  of  a  few 
thousand  pounds  per  annum,  that  great  work,  the  trigonomet- 
rical survey  of  Great  Britain,  was  on  the  point  of  being  left  in- 
complete. It  was  saved  by  a  majority  of  only  two  votes  in  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Commons.' 

"  The  passage  to  which  Dr.  C.  alluded,  and  which  we  forth- 
with read  together,  is  well  worthy  of  notice.  It  is  in  chap, 
xxxviii.,  and  begins  as  follow^s  :  *  How  can  he  get  wisdom  that 
holdeth  the  plow,  and  that  glorieth  in  the  goad,  that  driveth 
oxen,  and  is  occupied  in  their  labors,  and  whose  talk  is  of  bul- 
locks ?  He  giveth  his  mind  to  make  furrows,  and  is  diligent 
to  give  the  kine  fodder.'  The  writer  then  goes  on  to  describe 
in  a  vivid  manner,  the  work  of  the  carpenter,  the  seal-cutter, 
the  smith,  and  the  potter ;  and  adds,  '  without  these  can  not 
a  city  be  inhabited,  and  they  shall  not  go  where  they  will,  nor 
go  up  and  down.  They  shall  not  be  sought  for  in  public  coun- 
cil, nor  sit  high  in  the  congregation  :  they  shall  not  sit  on  the 
judge's  seat,  nor  understand  the  sentence  of  judgment,  and 
they  shall  not  be  found  where  yarahles  are  spoTcen.' 

"  Chal.  '  I  take  great  delight  in  the  book  of  Ecclesiasticus. 
Were  I  to  speak  merely  from  my  own  judgment  of  the  internal 
evidence,  I  should  say  that  it  contains  almost  equal  marks  of 
inspiration  with  the  book  of  Proverbs.  But  the  New  Testa- 
ment gives  no  countenance  to  such  an  opinion.  There  are  few 
books  in  the  Old  Testament  more  often  quoted  by  the  evange- 
lists and  apostles  than  the  book  of  Proverbs  :  but  they  take  no 
notice  of  Ecclesiasticus.' 

"  The  more  we  became  familiarized  to  Dr.  C.'s  company, 
and  observed  the  remarkable  union  which  he  presents  of  high 
talent  and  comprehensive  thought,  wdth  an  almost  childlike 
modesty  and  simplicity,  the  more  we  admired  him,  as  one  no- 
table example  of  that  exquisite  divine  workmanship  which  so 


^T.    53.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  291 

much  fills  his  own  contemplations.  I  may  also  add,  that  the 
more  we  became  acquainted  with  his  thorough  amiability,  the 
more  we  loved  him. 

"  I  must  not  conclude  without  just  remarking,  that  our  dear 
and  honored  friend  is  a  man  of  prayer.  The  prayers  w^hich 
he  uttered  in  our  family  circle,  on  some  solemn  occasions, 
were  concise,  emphatic,  and  comprehensive — indicative  of  a 
very  reverent  sense  of  the  holiness  of  God,  and  of  the  all-suf- 
ficiency of  the  one  appointed  mediation.  I  find  myself  often 
recurring  to  some  of  his  concluding  words — 'These  petitions 
we  humbly  offer  unto  Thee,  in  the  name  of  Him  whom  Thou 
hearest  always.     Amen.'  " 

In  style,  as  well  as  subject,  the  letters  of  Dr.  Chalmers  to  his 
children  are  invariably  suited  to  the  age  of  his  correspondent. 
Such,  for  example,  is  the  manner  and  subject  of  a  letter  printed 
with  the  pen  for  his  little  daughter,  Fanny.  *'  Set  off  at  twelve 
in  a  coach  for  Beverley,  open,  and  drawn  by  Mr.  Venn's  own 
horses.  He  accompanied  me  along  with  Mr.  Scott  and  another 
clergyman,  whose  name  I  have  strangely  forgotten.  It  was  a 
most  kind  and  respectable  convoy  for  nine  miles.  The  object 
was  that  I  might  see  Beverley  Minster,  not  a  regular  cathedral, 
but  really  as  splendid  and  noble  an  edifice  as  I  could  desire  to 
see,  and  that  would  rank  high  among  the  cathedrals  of  England. 
In  taking  up  Mr.  Scott,  at  the  outskirts  of  Hull,  made  a  short  call 
on  his  interesting  family,  consisting  of  a  wife  and  a  good  many 
children  ;  one  son  in  orders,  and  several  grown  up  daughters. 
Before  examining  the  cathedral  minutely,  visited  the  minister 
of  Beverley.  His  name  is  Mr.  C,  and  as  I  wrote  Helen  in  my 
last  letter  about  the  biggest  bell  I  had  ever  seen  in  my  life,  let 
me  now  write  iMle  Fanny  about  the  biggest  man  I  ever  saw. 
He  is  so  heavy  that  he  cannot  walk  ;  he  would  weigh  more 
than  two  of  your  papa.  We  found  him  sitting  on  an  arm  chair 
that  could  have  been  made  into  a  bed  for  you  and  Helen  sleep- 
ing in.  When  he  goes  to  the  church  to  preach,  which  he  does 
very  often,  he  gets  upon  a  wooden  horse  called  a  velocipede, 
which  runs  upon  wheels,  and  with  this  he  moves  through  the 
streets,  and  through  the  church  till  he  gets  to  the  foot  of  the 


292  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1833. 

pulpit;  and  then  two  great  strong  men-servants  push  him  up  the 
stair  and  through  the  door  of  the  pulpit  with  their  backs  and  their 
shoulders,  when  he  sits  squash  down  upon  an  immense  cushion 
and  preaches  sitting  to  the  people,  for  to  do  it  standing  would 
be  impossible.  He  received  us  with  great  politeness,  is  a  lit- 
erary and  gentlemanly  person,  and  so  much  esteemed  that  his 
odd  movements  in  public  excite  no  ridicule,  he  being  very- 
much  respected  and  sympathized  with.  On  my  stating  how 
desirable  it  is  to  have  a  printed  guide  for  all  great  objects  of 
/juriosity,  he  made  distribution  among  us  four  of  a  small  work 
that  he  himself  had  drawn  up  on  Beverley  Minster,  fur- 
nished with  which  we  made  a  most  satisfactory  survey  of  the 
magnificent,  highly  adorned,  and  carefully  kept  structure,  used 
as  a  parish  church,  but  having  no  less  than  £1400  a  year  of 
revenue  for  keeping  it  in  order. — I  am,  my  dear  Fanny,  your 
affectionate  papa,  "Thomas  Chalmers." 

Proceeding  on  his  leisurely  journey  northward,  on  Sunday, 
the  11th  of  August  he  preached  at  Belford  and  Norham, 
though  eighteen  miles  asunder.  Another  notion  of  this  tour 
was  from  Norham  to  Woodhouselee  to  "  speel  along  the  bor- 
der on  foot,  with  one  leg,  wherever  it  was  possible  in  England, 
and  another  in  Scotland."  This  manner  of  traveling  was 
obstructed  by  the  kindness  of  friends,  and  the  only  approach 
to  the  realization  of  his  plan  of  a  solitary  ramble,  was  one  day 
when  he  "  proceeded  down  the  Liddel,  in  company  with  George 
Thomson,  of  seventy  years  of  age,  a  genius  and  a  character ; 
and  as  he  walked  slow,  and  I  kept  back  with  him  for  the  sake 
of  his  information,  we  took  just  four  hours  and  a  half  to  our 
twelve  miles'  ride.  He  gave  me  much  intelligence  regarding 
all  the  hills  and  localities  within  sight — being  a  pure  Liddels- 
dale  man,  and  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit  and  tastes 
of  a  Scottish  Borderer,  beside  being  a  botanist,  and,  I  suspect 
a  poet  also.  He  pointed  out  to  me  Mangerton  Pillar,  round 
which  I  went ;  Mangerton  House,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Liddel ;  the  site  of  Jock  o'  the  Side's  house  ;  the  direction 
where  Pudding-bum  House  lay  ;  Stangarth  Castle,  etc.;  all 


^T.    68.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  293 

famous  in  Border  story.  He  represented  himself  as  a  relative 
of  the  poet  Thomson,  whose  father,  by  the  way,  died  minister 
of  Hopekirk,  and  is  buried  there.  He  recounted  to  me  various 
Border  exploits,  and  had  the  traditionary  knowledge  of  many 
Border  rhymes. 

Reaching  Woodhouselee  in  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  he 
thus  closes  his  letter  on  the  Border  country  :  *'  The  end  of  the 
week  brought  me  to  the  end  of  the  Border  line.  The  only  re- 
visitation  I  should  like  to  make  along  the  whole  length  of  it, 
is  to  the  Hermitage  river,  that  runs  into  the  Liddel  from  the 
N.  W.,  and  that  for  the  sake  of  Hermitage  Castle.  I  can- 
not but  remark  it  as  unexpected  and  strange,  that  I  should, 
without  my  being  previously  aware  of  them,  have  been  so 
handed  from  one  acquaintance  to  another,  and  from  one  horse 
or  carriage  to  another,  so  in  fact  as  not  to  have  been  suffered 
to  foot  it  along  any  part  of  the  journey.  I,  all  the  week,  in  fact, 
have  had  the  services  done  to  me  which  I  recollect  in  my 
younger  days,  done  to  those  beggars  who  were  carried  about 
in  barrows  ;  lifted  at  Norham,  and  let  down  at  Kirknewton — 
lifted  at  Kirknewton,  and  let  down  at  Sprouston — lifted  at 
Sprouston,  and  let  down  at  Edgerston — lifted  at  Edgerston,  and 
let  down  at  Wolflee — lifted  at  Wolflee,  and  let  down  at  Hind- 
lee — lifted  at  Hindlee,  and  let  down  at  the  Rowe — lifted  at  the 
Rowe,  and  let  down  at  Woodhouselee.  I  will  not,  when  I 
consider  the  length  and  arduousness  of  the  way,  say  it  was 
hard  to  be  disappointed  of  my  pedestrian  speculation;  but  rather, 
when  I  look  back  to  all  the  accommodation  I  have  had,  and  to 
the  kindness  which  prompted  it,  I  cannot  but  feel  a  grateful 
emotion,  which  for  once  in  this  classic  and  inspiring  region,  I 
shall  give  vent  to  in  poetry — 

"  Good  people,  my  thanks. 
For  thus   haining  my   shanks." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  established  Church  of  Scotland  is  supported  by  a  regu- 
lar charge  upon  the  rent  of  land  paid  by  the  owners,  and  not 
by  the  imposition  of  a  burden  upon  the  industry  of  the 
country.  The  city  of  Edinburgh  is  an  exception,  the  estab- 
lished ministers  of  that  city  drawing  their  income  from  an 
annual  impost  of  six  per  cent,  on  the  rental,  payable  not  by  the 
owners,  but  by  the  occupiers  of  "  the  several  dwelling-houses, 
chambers,  booths,  cellars,  and  all  other  houses  high  and  low." 
This  is  called  the  Annuity  tax,  and  from  the  payment  of  it, 
**  all  the  members  of  the  College  of  Justice,  comprising  the 
Bench,  the  Bar,  and  the  whole  body  of  Writers  or  Attorneys, 
are  by  law  exempt."  A  burden  so  unequally  imposed,  natu- 
rally gave  much  dissatisfaction,  which  increased  with  the 
growth  of  dissent,  and  was  stimulated  to  greater  activity 
by  the  progress  of  political  reform.  Very  unkindly  and  un- 
fairly, instead  of  applying  to  the  head  of  authority  to  have  the 
evil  corrected,  the  people  of  Edinburgh  endeavored  to  throw 
the  obloquy  upon  the  ministers,  who  had  no  hand  in  establish- 
ing the  system,  and  had  come  to  the  city  in  dependence  upon 
the  pay  that  was  guaranteed  to  them  by  those  from  whom  they 
received  the  call.  By  refusing  to  pay  the  assessment,  it  was 
thought  that  the  ministers  would  either  relinquish  their  income, 
or  by  attempting  to  obtain  it  in  course  of  law,  bring  disrepute 
upon  both  the  system  and  themselves  :  in  other  words,  the  tax 
payers,  instead  of  applying  for  a  change  of  the  law,  deter- 
mined either  to  starve  or  disgrace  the  excellent  men  who  de- 
pended upon  their  honor.  The  ministers  admitted  of  great 
reductions  of  their  salaries,  by  having  the  impost  kid  upon 
only  four-fifths  of  the  rental,  and  by  excusing  all  whose  rent 
amounted  to  only  five  pounds  and  under,  as  well  as  by  freely 
(294, 


MT.  53.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  295 

giving  certificates  of  exemption  to  such  as  plead  inability  to 
pay.  Still,  the  illegal  resistance  prevailed,  until  the  Town 
Council,  at  last,  who  ought  to  have  done  so  at  first,  took  the 
matter  in  hand.  The  measure  proposed  by  that  body  evinced 
as  little  wisdom  as  Christianity.  It  was,  in  brief,  to  abolish  the 
Annuity  tax,  reduce  the  number  of  city  ministers  from  eighteen 
to  thirteen,  collect  their  salary  from  the  pew  rents,  and  supply 
whatever  deficit  there  might  be,  by  an  assessment  laid  partly 
upon  the  landlord  and  partly  upon  the  tenant.  A  consultation 
with  the  Presbytery  was  necessary.  After  frequent  confer- 
ences were  held  between  committees  of  the  two  bodies,  at  last 
a  set  of  queries  was  submitted  by  the  Council,  to  which 
authoritative  answers  were  requested  from  the  Presbytery.  Dr. 
Chalmers  was  appointed  to  draw  up  those  answers,  which  he 
could  do  with  the  better  grace,  as  not  being  personally  con- 
cerned, and  Wednesday,  the  23d  of  January,  was  appointed 
for  the  final  decision.  The  crowd  which  assembled,  both  from 
interest  in  the  case  and  desire  to  hear  Dr.  Chalmers,  was  im- 
mense. The  speech  was  one  of  its  author's  ablest  productions. 
Going  over  their  queries  in  order,  when  he  came  to  reply  to 
the  proposal  for  reducing  the  number  of  the  ministers,  his  an- 
swer was  :  "  The  Presbytery  cannot  give  their  consent  to  any 
arrangement  which  shall  have  the  efiect,  either  immediately  or 
in  future,  of  reducing  the  number  of  clergymen.  On  this  sub- 
ject, the  Presbytery  would,  in  the  first  place,  appeal  to  those 
days  in  the  past  history  of  Edinburgh,  when,  as  in  1668,  there 
were  twelve  ministers,  with  a  population,  it  is  understood, 
of  less  than  20,000,  or  in  1722,  when  there  were  sixteen  min- 
isters, with  a  population  of  about  25,200.  The  numbers  at 
present  are  eighteen  ministers  to  a  population  of  upward  of 
55,000  ;  and  the  Presbytery  never  can  consent  to  aggravate 
still  further  the  disproportion  between  the  former  and  present 
ecclesiastical  provision  for  the  city,  by  a  reduction  in  the  num- 
ber of  city  ministers.  They  are  the  more  strenuous  in  this 
lesistance,  that  the  evil  has  been  fearfully  increased  by  an  iu' 
undation  of  hearers  in  the  city  churches  from  the  suburbs  and 
surrounding  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh,  in  virtue  of  which  it 


296  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1834. 

■will  be  found  that  many  thousands  within  the  city  itself,  now 
wandering  Hke  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  have  been  denuded 
of  that  rightful  property  which  they  once  had  in  the  Sabbath 
ministrations  and  week-day  services  of  their  respective  clergy- 
men. The  Presbytery  never  will  consent  to  a  reduction  in 
their  number,  so  long  as  the  peculiar  service  of  reclaiming  these 
outcasts  remains  unaccomplished — a  service  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  the  moral  and  christian  interests  of  the  community, 
and  which,  under  the  present  system  of  seat-letting,  and  of 
general  congregations,  is  utterly  impracticable." 

Having  commented  largely  on  the  answers  to  the  remaining 
queries,  Dr.  Chalmers  proceeded  :  **  I  will  not  speak  of  the 
ecclesiastical  burdens  of  the  city,  because  the  effort  of  the  cler- 
gymen is  to  deliver  the  city  from  a  tenfold  heavier  burden  of 
pauperism,  profligacy  and  crime.  The  two  terms  of  the  alter- 
native are  the  luxury  of  the  higher  classes,  and  the  instruction 
of  the  lower,  and  I  stand  up  as  the  friend  of  the  lower  classes 
when  I  stand  up  for  the  maintenance  of  that  fund  which  is  the 
subject  of  your  deliberations.  Our  cause,  despite  of  the  oblo- 
quy which  has  been  heaped  upon  it,  is  emphatically  the  cause 
of  the  unprovided  —  it  is  the  cause  of  the  poor  against  the 
rich — of  the  many  who  should  reap  the  benefits  of  the  Estab- 
lishment in  the  lessons  of  christian  instruction,  against  the 
comparatively  few  who  would  refuse  to  pay  the  endowments, 
or  who  would  retain  what  is  not  theirs,  and  who,  for  their  own 
private  uses,  would  appropriate  that  which  ought  to  be  ex- 
pended on  the  best  and  highest  objects  of  patriotism." 
After  quoting  a  passage  in  favor  of  Establishments,  from 
the  writings  of  William  Cobbett,  Dr.  Chalmers  concluded 
thus  : 

"I  have  already  professed  myself,  and  will  profess  myself 
again,  an  unflinching,  an  out-and-out  —  and  I  maintain  it,  the 
only  consistent  radical.  The  dearest  object  of  my  earthly 
existence,  is  the  elevation  of  the  common  people  —  humanized 
by  Christianity,  and  raised  by  the  strength  of  their  moral  hab- 
its to  a  higher  platform  of  human  nature,  and  by  which  they 
may  attain  and  enjoy  the  rank  and  consideration  due  to  en- 


^T.  54.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  297 

lightened  and  companionable  men.  I  trust  the  day  is  coming 
when  the  people  will  find  out  who  are  their  best  friends,  and 
when  the  mock  patriotism  of  the  present  day  shall  be  unmasked 
by  an  act  of  robbery  and  spoliation  on  the  part  of  those  who 
would  deprive  the  poor  of  their  best  and  highest  patrimony. 
The  imperishable  soul  of  the  poor  man  is  of  as  much  price  in 
the  sight  of  heaven,  as  the  soul  of  the  rich;  and  I  will  resist  to 
the  uttermost — I  will  resist  even  to  the  death — that  alienation 
which  goes  but  to  swell  the  luxury  of  the  higher  ranks,  at  the 
expense  of  the  Christianity  of  the  lower  orders." 

"  The  Reverend  Doctor,"  the  reporter  adds,  **  throughout 
this  long  address,  spoke  with  marked  energy  and  emphasis, 
and  at  the  conclusion,  in  particular,  his  manner  was  charac- 
terized with  unusual  animation.  On  sitting  down,  a  burst 
of  applause  rose  from  the  spectators,  which  lasted  for  several 
minutes." 

His  exertions  had  indeed  overtasked  his  strength,  and  on 
the  way  home,  he  was  affected  with  a  stroke  of  paralysis, 
which,  without  entirely  disabling,  confined  him  to  his  room  for 
several  weeks.  A  slight  return  of  the  attack  some  time  after- 
ward, pointed  out  the  propriety  of  entire  cessation  of  labor  for 
some  time.  Accordingly,  the  summer  of  1834  was  spent  in 
quiet  country  retirement,  with  healthful  exercise  and  easy  read- 
ing, without  more  writing  than  was  involved  in  keeping  up 
a  pretty  extensive  correspondence.  That,  however,  amounted 
to  what  a  man  of  ordinary  industry  would  deem  an  overwhelm- 
ing task.  For,  in  addition  to  his  own  private  letters,  he  had 
now  fully  entered  upon  his  vast  scheme  of  church  extension, 
and  was  employed  in  making  it  known,  and  recommending  its  ob- 
jects, and  suggesting  measures  of  advancing  them  in  all  direc" 
tions.  The  religious  wants  of  his  countrymen,  had,  at  least  from 
the  time  of  his  first  explorations  in  Glasgow,  never  been  absent 
from  his  mind,  side  by  side  with  many  other  ideas  for  the  benefit 
of  mankind,  that  one  had  retained  its  place  and  given  evidence 
of  its  activity  in  his  various  labors  in  the  Tron  and  St.  John's 
parish,  in  his  Sabbath  schools  for  the  poor,  and  missionary 
efforts  in  St.  Andrew's,  and,  since  his  removal  to  Edinburo-h, 


298  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1834. 

the  condition  of  a  large  portion  of  that  population  had  attracted 
his  christian  sympathy.  I^ear  his  residence,  the  suburban  vil- 
lao-e  of  Water  of  Leith,  was  distino-uished  for  irrelio-ion  and 
disorder.  Of  its  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty-six  inhabitants,  only 
one  hundred  and  forty-three  had  seats  in  any  place  of  worship. 
With  the  aid  of  a  few  friends,  he  "  provided  a  missionary 
for  it,  who  in  six  months  had  collected  a  congregation  of  be- 
tween three  and  four  hundred,  most  of  whom  had  been  utter 
strangers  to  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel."  He  had  also  set 
on  foot  a  scheme  for  creating  a  new  parish  and  church  in  the 
Cowgate,  one  of  the  most  destitute  portions  of  the  city.  In 
1817  he  had  asserted  that  twenty  more  churches  were  needed 
to  meet  the  religious  wants  of  Glasgow.  The  estimate  was 
then  deemed  extravagant ;  but  such  had  been  the  progress  of 
correcter  views,  chiefly  as  the  result  of  his  own  teaching,  that 
now  among  his  former  parishioners  of  that  city,  a  plan  was 
adopted  for  actually  realizing  the  suggestion.  Mr.  Collins,  still 
pursuing  that  noble  career  of  christian  benevolence  upon 
which  he  had  entered,  together  with  his  former  pastor,  was  at 
once  the  originator  and  the  principal  agent  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  scheme  :  but  so  extensive  and  weighty  was  the 
co-operation,  that  in  1841,  the  last  church  of  the  twenty  was 
completed. 

The  same  spirit  also  more  extensively  pervaded  the  body  of 
the  Scottish  clergy.  A  committee  had  been  appointed  to  take 
means  of  increasing  the  usefulness  of  the  church  as  early  as 
1828;  but  without  any  results,  until  the  Assembly  of  1834 
furnished  it  with  some  new  powers  and  placed  Dr.  Chalmers 
at  its  head. 

The  design  of  the  Scottish  established  Church  is  to  furnish 
religious  instruction  to  every  individual  throughout  the  land, 
who  has  not  chosen  it  for  himself  in  some  dissenting  body. 
But  the  increase  of  churches  since  the  Reformation  had  fallen 
far  beliind  that  of  the  population,  and  now  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands, especially  in  the  large  cities,  were  utterly  unprovided 
for.  The  views  of  the  evangelical  party  contemplated  no  inno- 
vation.    It  was  only  the  self-development  which  the  establish- 


uET.  54.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  299 

ment  should  have  maintained  all  along.  There  were  formal  im- 
pediments, it  is  true.  New  parishes  were  subject  to  the  patron 
of  the  original  parish,  and  when  chapels  of  ease  were  erected 
the  ecclesiastical  courts  refused  to  admit  their  ministers  to  a 
place  with  their  brethren,  or  to  grant  them  a  Kirk  session  to 
aid  in  their  ministerial  work,  while  they  were  dependent  for 
pecuniary  support  wholly  upon  the  pew-rents.  A  bill  passed 
by  Parliament  in  the  summer  of  1834,  did  away  with  the  former 
obstacle,  and  an  Act  of  Assembly  of  the  same  year  admitted 
all  the  existing  chapel  ministers  to  the  full  standing  of  theparo- 
chical  clergy. 

The  way  was  thus  prepared  for  the  better  execution  of  the 
design  long  contemplated  by  Dr.  Chalmers.  In  pursuance  of 
the  objects  of  the  committee  he  now  made  it  his  business  to 
awaken  the  co-operation  of  men  of  standing  all  over  the  country. 
His  plan  was  to  build  new  churches  by  the  free  gifts  of  the 
people,  depending  not  so  much  upon  the  donations  of  the 
wealthy  as  the  penny-a-week  contributions  of  the  poor.  To 
the  latter  he  attached  very  great  importance,  not  only  for  the 
large  pecuniary  results  it  was  capable  of  giving,  but  also 
because  thereby  the  feelings  of  that  class  whom  it  was  designed 
to  benefit,  would  be  enlisted  in  the  enterprise.  The  ministers 
of  the  new  churches  were  to  be  provided  for  from  the  pew- 
rents,  which  at  the  same  time  were  to  be  put  low  enough  to  be 
within  the  means  of  the  poorest.  In  order  the  better  to  attain 
that  end  it  was  thought  desirable  to  have  small  endowments 
for  each  of  them.  The  intention  is  thus  presented  in  Dr.  Chal- 
mers's own  language  :  "  The  whole  peculiarity  of  our  scheme 
lies  in  this  ;  and,  while  this  is  kept  out  of  sight,  we  shall  never 
have  done  with  the  unintelligent  crudities  of  those  by  whom 
we  are  made  the  objects  of  a  perpetual  misrepresentation. 
The  church  is  planted  for  the  express  benefit  of  certain  unpro- 
vided families  occupying  a  given  district  that  has  been  pre- 
viously explored,  and  whose  hmits  have  been  previously  de- 
termined ;  and  the  specific  thing  on  which  we  rest,  and  are 
willing  to  rest  exclusively  the  merits  of  our  cause,  is  the  foot- 
ing upon  which  the  relation  is  established  between  this  church 


300  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1834. 

and  these  families.  (1.)  We  provide  them  with  a  church 
near  enough,  else  they  are  still  unprovided  families.  (2.)  We 
are  laboring  to  provide  them  with  a  church  at  seat-rents  low 
enough,  else  they  are  obviously  still  unprovided  families.  (3.) 
We  take  care  that  the  district  he  small  enough,  and  its  families 
few  enough  to  be  thoroughly  pervaded  by  the  week-day  atten- 
tions of  a  clergyman  ;  else  in  one  most  important  respect  these 
families  would  still  be  unprovided,  because  not  provided  with 
a  minister  who  might  assume  the  pastoral  superintendence, 
and  discharge  it  so  fully  as  to  become  the  counselor  and 
Christian  friend  of  one  and  all  of  them." 

Application  was  accordingly    made  to   government  for  an 

endowment,  and  met,  at  first  with  much  favor  ;  but  the  dis- 

;Senters  seeing  the  progress  of  the  scheme  (for  in  one  year  un- 

Ij  der  the  management  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  no  less  than  sixty-four 

,  new  churches  had  been  or  were  being  built),  and  fearing  lest 

it  should  interfere  with  their  own  advancement,  united  their 

efforts  to  defeat  it.    Earnest  and  numerous  remonstrances  were 

addressed  to  Parliament  against  the  intended  grant,  the  result 

of  which  was  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  investigation 

into  the  means  of  religious  instruction.    Their  report,  submitted 

at  the  end  of  two  years,  fully  sustained  the   representations 

made  of  the  spiritual   wants  of  the   country,  but  no  measure 

followed  of  a  nature  to  supply  them. 

No  such  external  discouragements,  however,  could  impede 
the  progress  or  extinguish  the  zeal  of  the  indefatigable  mind, 
now  laboring  for  the  rehgious  instruction  of  Scotland's  poor. 
Amid  disappointments  and  opposition,  both  out  of  the  church 
and  in  it,  he  pressed  on  with  unflagging  devotion,  maintaining 
a  voluminous  correspondence,  issuing  circulars  and  pamphlets, 
directing  agents  and  stirring  up  the  active  benevolence  of  the 
people  by  the  wonderful  power  of  his  voice.  No  less  than  four 
pamphlets  in  relation  to  the  subject  were  published  by  him  in 
the  months  of  April  and  May,  1835  ;  and  not  content  with  all 
his  own  voice  could  effect,  he,  in  1836,  under  sanction  of  the 
General  Assembly,  instituted  a  system  of  meetings  over  the 
country  at  which  various  well  instructed  deputies  were  ap- 


^T.  55.  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  301 

pointed  to  "plead  the  cause  in  the  nciost  popular  and  eifective 
manner,"  Nor  were  the  fruits  disproportioned  to  the  labor  ex- 
pended. At  the  end  of  four  years,  Dr.  Chalmers  had  to  report 
to  the  General  Assembly  the  addition  of  nearly  two  hundred 
churches,  "  for  the  erection  of  which  upward  of  two  hundred 
thousand  pounds  had  been  contributed."  A  proof  not  only  of 
his  own  energy,  but  of  the  truth  with  which  he  had  divined 
the  wants  of  his  countrymen.  In  his  own  words,  "Had  the 
operations  of  the  Committee  not  harmonized  with  the  senti- 
ments of  the  country,  they  never  could  have  commanded  an 
amount  and  continuance  of  pecuniary  support  altogether  with- 
out a  precedent  in  the  history  of  christian  beneficence  in  this 
part  of  the  British  empire.  Nor  is  there  any  premonitory 
symptom  yet  of  declining  fervor  in  this  cause  among  the  peo- 
ple of  Scotland.  The  work  is  still  far  from  its  termination.  It 
has  only,  so  to  speak,  begun.  The  cases  of  most  helpless  and 
affecting  destitution  still  remain  to  be  overtaken.  There  are 
wastes  of  poverty,  irreligion,  and  crime,  which  have  still  to  be 
redeemed,  and  which  nothing  but  the  aggressive  operation  of  a 
territorial  establishment,  wisely,  and  strenuously,  and  perseve- 
ringly  conducted,  is  adequate  to  subdue  ;  and  until  every  such 
moral  wilderness  is  explored  and  reclaimed,  and  the  whole 
country  present  the  aspect  of  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath 
blessed,  and  is  causing  to  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness, the  Committee  may  not  rest  from  their  labors,  nor  the 
people  from  their  hearty  and  zealous  co-operation.  At  the 
glorious  era  of  the  church's  Reformation,  it  was  the  unwearied 
support  of  the  people  which,  under  God,  finally  brought  her 
efforts  to  a  triumphant  issue  ;  in  this  era  of  her  extension — an 
era  as  broadly  marked,  and  as  emphatically  presented  to  the 
notice  of  the  ecclesiastical  historian,  as  any  which  the  church 
is  wont  to  consider  as  instances  of  signal  revival  and  divine  in- 
terposition— the  support  of  the  people  will  not  be  wanting  ;  but 
by  their  devoted  exertions,  and  willing  sacrifices,  and  ardent 
prayers,  they  will  yet  testify  how  much  they  love  the  house 
where  their  fathers  worshiped — how  much  they  reverence  their 


802  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1835. 

Saviour's  command,   that  the  very  poorest  of  their  brethren 
shall  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them." 

Dr.  Chalmers,  in  the  midst  of  his  many  occupations  in  the 
winter  of  1835-6,  prepared,  from  survey  made  by  himself  and 
agents  of  his  own  appointment,  a  statement  of  the  condition  in 
respect  to  religion,  of  districts  in  Edinburgh,  embracing  a  pop- 
ulation of  twenty  thousand,  for  presentation  before  the  Com- 
missioners of  Religious  Instruction  ;  and  in  his  examination  by 
that  body,  he  also  took  occasion  to  set  forth  the  grounds  and 
principles  of  the  church  extension  scheme.  The  opponents  of 
that  enterprise,  especially  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lee,  of  Edinburgh, 
upon  examination,  endeavored  to  make  impressions  of  a  con- 
tradictory nature.  This  circumstance,  together  with  an  attempt 
afterward  made  to  give  weight  to  their  party  by  the  election  of 
Dr.  Lee  as  Moderator  of  the  next  Assembly,  led  to  a  public 
controversy  and  some  unpleasant  feelings,  which  it  took  years 
to  reconcile.  Thereby,  however,  the  cause  of  reformation  was 
promoted,  and  the  opposition,  defeated  in  their  attempt,  were 
made  to  feel  the  increasing  strength  of  those  convictions  they 
had  so  long  succeeded  in  suppressing. 


CHAPTEK   XV. 

Literary  societies  now  vied  with  each  other  in  honoring  one 
whose  name  conferred  more  honor  than  it  received  in  connec- 
tion with  any  society.  In  January,  1834,  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  and  nearly 
at  the  same  time,  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Royal  Insti- 
tute of  France,  and  in  the  summer  of  1 835,  he  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  from  the  University  of  Oxford. 
The  second  of  these  he  justly  acknowledged  as  the  proudest  of 
his  literary  honors,  and  respecting  the  last,  which  was  conferred 
during  a  visit  to  London  in  June,  1835,  we  have  the  following 
reminiscence  from  the  pen  of  Lord  Elgin  :  **  I  retain  a  very 
pleasing  impression  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  visit  to  Oxford  in  1835. 
I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  saw  him  enjoy  himself  more  thor- 
oughly than  he  seemed  to  do  on  that  occasion.  With  the  ex- 
ception, indeed,  of  the  degree  conferred  upon  him  by  the  Uni- 
versity, Dr.  Chalmers's  visit  to  Oxford  was  not  marked  by  any 
very  striking  incident.  What  was  chiefly  interesting  to  one 
who  esteemed  and  admired  him,  was  to  witness  the  heartiness 
with  which  he  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  place,  and  the  al- 
most boyish  delight  which  he  seemed  to  experience,  after  the 
toils  of  his  sojourn  in  London,  in  suffering  his  imagination  to 
expatiate  among  scenes  of  academic  grandeur  and  repose.  I 
well  remember  his  coming  to  my  apartment  at  Merton,  before 
eight  o'clock  one  morning,  and  telling  me  of  a  sequestered 
court  which  he  had  found  in  a  college,  into  which  he  had 
strayed  on  his  way  from  Christ  Church,  and  the  earnestness 
with  which  he  claimed  credit  for  having  thus  discovered  for 
himself  a  spot  of  surpassing  beauty,  which  could,  he  assured 
me,  be  known  to  few.  I  remember,  too,  the  serious  manner  in 
which,  while  we  were  strolling  in  the   college  garden,  on  the 

(303) 


304  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1885 

afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  his  degree  was  conferred  on  him, 
he  apologized  for  the  extravagance  of  which  he  had  been 
guilty  in  purchasing  the  robes  of  a  Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  not- 
withstanding the  precautions  I  had  taken  to  relieve  him  from 
this  necessity,  saying,  *  You  see  I  could  not  bring  myself  to 
leave  the  place,  without  carrying  away  with  me  some  memo- 
rial of  the  academic  costume.' 

*'  On  the  day  following  his  arrival  at  Oxford,  I  was  re- 
quested to  endeavor  to  ascertain  whether  it  would  be  agreeable 
to  him  to  receive  an  honorary  degree  from  the  University  ;  and 
I  had  afterward  the  satisfaction  of  being  present  when  it  was 
conferred  on  him.  Rarely  have  I  witnessed  as  much  enthu- 
siasm in  the  Oxford  theater,  as  was  manifested  when  he  pre- 
sented himself  to  go  through  the  ceremony  of  admission.  This 
was  the  more  gratifying,  because  it  was  notorious  that  on  some 
by  no  means  immaterial  points,  his  views  were  not  coincident 
with  those  which  obtained  at  the  time  Avith  an  influential  sec- 
tion of  the  Oxford  University  public.  Indeed,  the  only  ex- 
pression of  regret  which  fell  from  him  in  my  hearing  during 
the  course  of  his  visit,  had  reference  to  the  reserve  which  char- 
acterized, as  he  thought,  the  manner  of  some  eminent  men, 
connected  with  a  certain  theological  party,  to  whom  he  was  in- 
troduced, and  which  prevented  him  from  touching,  in  conver- 
sation with  them,  upon  topics  of  highest  import,  with  the  frank 
and  genial  earnestness  which  was  natural  to  him.  This  was, 
however,  only  a  passing  remark.  Most  assuredly  there  was  no 
indication  of  lack  of  cordiality  in  his  reception  by  Convocation. 
Dr.  Chalmers  was  himself  deeply  affected  by  the  warmth  with 
which  he  was  greeted  ;  and  I  think  I  might  almost  venture  to 
say  that  he  looked  upon  this  visit  to  Oxford  as  one  of  the  most 
pleasing  incidents  in  his  career." 

While  thus  laboring  for  the  spiritual  well-being  of  his  coun- 
trymen, and  receiving  the  highest  honors  of  his  profession, 
both  at  home  and  abroad,  he  was  still  struggling,  in  his  own 
affairs,  with   the   difficulties  attendant  upon  an   office  poorly 

Lid. 

The  theological  professorship,  previously  connected  with  a 


^T.  55.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  305 

city  pastoral  charge,  when  such  pluraUties  were  abolished,  re- 
tained a  very  inadequate  endowment.  At  Dr.  Chalmers's  first 
connection  with  it,  the  salary  was  only  one  hundred  and  nine- 
ty-six pounds,  paid  by  the  Town  Council,  no  fees  being  taken 
from  theological  students.  A  few  years  later,  this  was  entirely 
dried  up  by  the  insolvency  of  the  Town  Council,  and  the  only 
remedy  provided,  was  the  exaction  of  a  small  fee  from  those 
who  attended  the  lectures.  Dr.  Chalmers  was  thus  left  de- 
pendent upon  a  precarious  income,  amounting,  on  an  average, 
to  about  four  hundred  pounds  a  year,  while  occupying  a  place  in 
society  involving  an  outlay  of  more  than  eight  hundred.  Not  only 
for  his  own  sake,  but  also  on  account  of  his  successors  in  office, 
he  felt  some  eflbrt  to  obtain  an  adequate  endowment  for  the  pro- 
fessorship to  be  incumbent  on  him.  A  memorial  presented  to 
government  on  the  subject,  however,  failed  of  success.  Con- 
sequently, compelled  to  adopt  some  method  of  eking  out  his 
insufficient  resources,  he  fell  in  with  a  proposal  from  his  pub- 
lisher, of  issuing,  in  quarterly  volumes,  a  cheap  edition  of  his 
works.  This  enterprise  was  begun  in  January,  1836.  Many 
of  the  treatises  were  greatly  enlarged  in  the  course  of  repub- 
lication, and  most  of  the  first  five  volumes  were  entirely  new 
material. 

One  of  the  great  questions  then  agitating  the  British  public, 
was  the  propriety  of  religious  establishments.  An  almost  uni- 
versal conviction  existed  of  the  necessity  of  reform  in  the 
Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  a  large  party  advocated 
the  abolition  of  the  system  entirely.  This  party  Avas  largely 
represented  in  Parliament.  Commissions  of  inquiry  were  ap- 
pointed to  look  into  the  matter,  who,  beginning  with  the  Irish 
Establishment,  led  to  a  reduction  in  the  number  of  its  bishops, 
and  proposals  to  alienate  a  large  amount  of  its  revenue.  The 
friends  of  the  English  church  were  aroused  to  their  utmost 
efforts  :  and  among  the  means  adopted  by  them  for  defense, 
a  society  was  organized  in  London,  designated  The  Christian 
Influence  Society.  Early  in  1837,  Dr.  Chalmers  was  solicited 
to  deliver,  before  this  association,  a  course  of  lectures,  as  the 
opening  of  a  series  devoted  to  an  exposition  of  its  peculiar 
26 


306  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1838. 

objects.  Viewing  this  in  the  hght  of  a  most  favorable  oppor- 
tunity of  bringing  forward  in  didactic,  rather  than  controver- 
sial form,  his  idea  of  a  church  establishment,  he  agreed  to 
undertake  the  task,  but  postponed  the  execution  of  it  until  the 
following  spring.  The  time  and  care  expended  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  these  lectures,  were  amply  repaid;  none  of  his  productions 
were  received  with  greater  favor,  or  told  with  more  effect  upon 
their  cause.  The  first  of  the  course  was  delivered  in  the  Han- 
over Square  Rooms,  London,  on  Wednesday,  the  25th  April, 
1838.  None  were  admitted  except  those  who  had  received 
tickets  from  the  society,  whose  choice  had  brought  together 
an  audience  of  the  highest  rank,  and  most  refined  education : 
and  yet  the  effects  recorded  of  the  lecturer's  power  were  noD 
inferior  to  those  he  had  produced  upon  larger  and  promiscuous 
assemblies.  The  enthusiasm  of  attendance  continued  to  increase 
through  the  whole  course.  An  American  clergyman,  the  Rev. 
J.  A.  Clark,  who  was  present  at  the  fourth  and  fifth,  says  in 
regard  to  them  :  "  The  hour  at  which  the  lecture  was  to  com- 
mence was  two  o'clock.  I  thought  it  necessary  to  be  before- 
hand in  order  to  secure  a  seat.  When  I  arrived,  I  found  the 
hall  so  perfectly  crammed,  that  at  first  it  seemed  impossible  to 
gain  admission,  but  by  dint  of  perseverance  I  pushed  my  way 
onward  through  the  dense  crowd,  till  I  had  reached  nearly  the 
center  of  the  hall.  Though  the  crowd  was  so  great,  it  was 
very  obvious  that  the  assembly  was  made  up  principally  of 
persons  in  the  higher  walks  of  life.  Dukes,  marquises,  earls, 
viscounts,  barons,  baronets,  bishops,  and  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, were  to  be  seen  in  every  direction.  After  some  consid- 
erable delay  and  impatient  waiting,  the  great  charmer  made 
his  entrance,  and  was  welcomed  with  clappings  and  shouts  of 
applause,  that  grew  more  and  more  intense,  till  the  noise  be- 
came almost  deafening."  The  concluding  lecture  was  graced 
by  the  presence  of  nine  prelates  of  the  Church  of  England. 
The  tide  that  had  been  rising  and  sweUing  each  succeeding  day 
now  burst  all  bounds.  Carried  away  by  the  impassioned  utter- 
ance of  the  speaker,  long  ere  the  close  of  some  of  his  finest 
passages  was  reached,  the  voice  of  the  lecturer  was  drowned 


^T.    58.  LIFE    OF    DB.    CHALMEKS.  307 

in  the  applause,  the  audience  rising  from  their  seats,  waving 
their  hats  above  their  heads,  and  breaking  out  into  tumultuous 
approbation.      Nor  was  the  interest  confined  to  the  lecture- 
room.     "  Nothing,"  says  Dr.  Begg,  "  could  exceed  the  enthu- 
siasm  which  prevailed  in  London.       The  great  city  seemed 
stirred  to  its  very  depths.     The  doctor  sat  when  deliverino-  his 
lectures,  behind  a  small  table;  the  hall,  in  front,  being  densely 
crowded  with  one  of  the  most  brilliant  audiences  that  ever  as- 
sembled in  Britain.     It  was  supposed  that  at  least  five  hundred 
of  those  present  were  Peers  and  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons.    Sir  James  Graham  was  a  very  constant  attender.    The 
sitting  attitude  of  Dr.  Chalmers  seemed  at  first  irreconcilable 
with  much  energy  or  effect ;  but  such   an  anticipation  was  at 
once  dispelled  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  speaker,  responded  to 
if  possible,  by  the  still  more  intense  enthusiasm  of  the  audi- 
ence ;  and,  occasionally,  the  effect  was  even  greatly  increased, 
by  the  eloquent  man  springing  unconsciously  to   his   feet,  and 
dehvering  with  more  overwhelming  power  the  more  magnifi- 
cent passages,  a  movement  which,  on  one  occasion,  at  least, 
was  imitated  by  the  entire  audience,  when  the  words,  'the  king 
cannot — the  king  dare   not,'  were  uttered  in  accents  of  pro- 
phetic vehemence,  that  must  still  ring  in  the  ears  of  all  who 
heard  them,  and  were  responded  to  by  a  whirlwind  of  enthu- 
siasm, which  was  probably  never  exceeded  in  the  history  of 
eloquence.     Some  of  us  sat  on  the  platform  beside  the  doctor, 
and  near  us  were  the  reporters.    One  seemed  to  leave  the  room 
every  five  minutes  with  what  he  had  written,  so  that  by  the 
time  the  lecture  was  finished,  it  was  nearly  all   in  print.     On 
the  day  of  the  first  lecture,  which  commenced  at  two  o'clock, 
and  terminated  about  half-past  three,  some  of  us  Avent  round  by 
the  city,  and  when  w^e  reached  our  dinner  table  at  five  o'clock, 
we  were  able  to  present  Dr.  Chalmers  a  newspaper,  I  think  the 
*  Sun,'  or  *  Globe,'  containing  a    full    report   of  his    lecture. 
Nothing  was  more  striking,  however,  amidst  all  this  excite- 
ment, than  the  child-like   humility  of  the  great  man  himself. 
All  the  flattery  seemed  to  produce  no  effect  whatever  on  him  ; 
his  mind  was  entirely  absorbed  in  his  great  object ;  and  the 


308  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1838. 

same  kind,  playful,  and  truly  christian  spirit,  that  so  endeared 
him  to  us  all,  was  everywhere  apparent  in  his  conduct.  I  had 
the  honor  afterward,  to  be  introduced  to  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge. He  immediately  introduced  the  subject  of  Dr.  Chal- 
mers. '  "What  does  he  teach  V  said  his  Royal  Highness,  rap- 
idly. I  intimated  that  he  taught  theology.  *  Monstrous  clever 
man,'  said  the  duke,  'he  could  teach  anything.'  I  have  heard 
Dr.  Chalmers  on  many  great  occasions,  but  probably  his  Lon- 
don lectures  afforded  the  most  remarkable  illustrations  of  his 
extraordinary  power,  and  must  be  ranked  among  the  most  sig- 
nal triumphs  of  oratory  in  any  age." 

The  lectures  were  immediately  published  in  authentic  form  ; 
and  notwithstanding  the  anticipations  by  the  newspapers,  eight 
thousand  copies  were  circulated  within  a  year.  They  were 
afterward  inserted  in  the  series  of  his  works  and  constitute  the 
most  complete  embodiment  of  his  ideas  "  upon  the  establish- 
ment and  extension  of  national  churches  as  affording  the  only 
adequate  machinery  for  the  moral  and  christian  instruction  of 
a  people." 

**  From  the  time  of  his  appointment  as  one  of  its  correspond- 
ing members.  Dr.  Chalmers  had  cherished  the  intention  of 
reading  a  paper  before  the  Royal  Institute  of  France.  In  exe- 
cution of  this  design  he  left  England  for  Paris  early  in  June, 
1838,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Chalmers  and  two  of  his  daughters. 
Lady  Elgin,  Sir  John  and  Lady  Hay,  Lady  Shaw  Stewart,  and 
Mr.  Erskine,  all  of  whom  were  there,  vied  with  each  other  in 
affording  him  every  opportunity  for  thoroughly  exploring  Paris; 
and  to  the  same  kind  friends  he  was  indebted  for  more  than 
one  interesting  glimpse  into  the  interior  of  French  Society."  Su- 
perior to  the  prejudices  of  nationality,  he  seems  to  have  carried 
with  him  everywhere  a  heart  prepared  to  be  pleased.  In  the 
records  of  his  first  sight  of  Paris,  he  declared  himself  much 
impressed  with  its  beauty  and  lightness  up  and  down  the  Seine, 
and  delighted  with  the  Tuilleries  garden  ;  its  sculpture,  its 
shaded  walks,  its  groups  of  pedestrians  ;  and  goes  on  to  note 
"  how  much  more  still  and  leisurely  ever}^  thing  moves  here 
than  in  London.    All  in  Paris  is  within  a  manageable  compass; 


^T.  58.  LIFE   OF    DR.   CHALMEKS.  309 

and  I  was  not  prepared  for  its  being  so  much  less  busy,  and 
populous,  and  extensive,  than  our  own  metropolis.  It  is  more 
a  city  of  loungers  ;  and  life  moves  on  at  a  more  rational  pace. 
Its  buildings  are  more  impressive." 

After  spending  between  two  and  three  weeks  in  Paris,  read- 
ing his  paper  on  the  Distinction,  both  in  principle  and  effect, 
between  a  legal  charity  for  the  relief  of  indigence,  and  a  legal 
charity  for  the  relief  of  disease,  before  the  Royal  Institute,  mak- 
ing the  acquaintance  of  M.  Guizot,  and  various  other  eminent 
literary  characters,  he  made  an  excursion  through  the  provinces, 
in  the  course  of  which  he  visited  the  Due  de  Broglie,  to  whom 
he  had  been  introduced  in  Paris,  and  who  had  invited  him  to 
spend  a  few  days  at  his  country  residence.  One  of  the  days 
spent  there  was  a  Sabbath,  of  which  we  find  the  following 
record  :  "  Found  the  morning  worship  party  in  the  library  at 
eleven.  The  Duke  read  a  chapter  of  the  French  Bible,  the 
tenth  of  John,  at  a  table  ;  the  Duchess,  opposite  to  him,  read 
sermon,  one  of  Audebez's.  We  then  all  knelt,  and  she  uttered 
a  French  prayer  ;  could  not  follow  it,  but  her  frequent  *0, 
Seigneur,'  in  a  most  devotional  tone,  went  to  my  heart. 
Whether  the  prayer  was  extemporaneous  or  learned  by  heart, 
I  know  not.  At  three,  a  small  party.  Conversed  in  the 
Duchess's  own  apartment,  when  I  read  a  chapter  and  ex- 
pounded. My  topic  was  appropriation,  from  the  tenth  chapter 
of  Romans.  It  gave  rise  to  a  brief  conversation,  chiefly  on 
the  part  of  Mademoiselle  Ponnarrie,  who  must  in  part  have 
understood  me.  She  is  the  same  I  met  in  Lady  Elgin's  and 
who  was  spoken  of  to  me  as  likely  to  translate  my  *  Natural 
Theology.'  Madame  de  Stael  said  I  had  given  her  much  com- 
fort. All  here  are  Catholics  but  the  Duchess  and  Madame  de 
Stael.  Was  shown  Diodati's  translation  of  my  St.  John's  Ser- 
mons. Family  worship  in  the  evening,  consisting  of  a  chapter 
and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  at  which  we  knelt,  the  Duchess  offici- 
ating ;  about  seven  domestics  present  in  the  morning,  and 
fifteen  in  the  evening." 

Not  many  months  afterward  that  noble  and  pious  lady  was 
numbered  with  the  dead.     In  his  letter  addressed  to  the  Duke 


310  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  18SS. 

on  that  melancholy  bereavement,  Dr.  Chalmers  remarked  of 
her  as  the  most  exalted  and  impressive  of  all  the  acquaintances 
he  had  made  for  many  years. 

From  Brogiie  he  and  his  traveling  companion,  Mr.  Erskine, 
proceeded  to  Alencon.  '*  The  variety  and  amount  of  sweet 
and  engaging  landscape,  as  we  pass  along  quite  baffling.  A 
church  to  the  right,  another  to  the  left,  another  onward,  pro- 
jected to  the  sky.  The  succession  of  loveliness  prodigious. 
I  now  understand  the  beauty  of  Normandy."  Reaching  Tours 
they  ascended  the  Loire  to  Orleans,  and  thence  to  Pithiviers 
and  Malesherbes,  then  to  Fontainbleau  and  again  to  Paris. 
Looking  back  upon  this  tour,  he  says  of  it,  ''a  most  interesting 
journey,  by  which  my  opinion  of  the  actual  state  of  property 
in  France,  and  also  my  views  of  its  eventual,  have  been  made 
more  favorable.  Much,  however,  must  be  left  to  time  and 
experience.  Have  been  greatly  enlightened  by  the  conversa- 
tion of  the  Due  de  BrogHe. 

From  a  desire  to  spend  the  last  years  of  his  life  in  a  manner 
entirely  devotional,  Dr.  Chalmers  now  put  forth  all  his  strength 
to  bring  his  plans  for  Church  extension  to  maturity,  that  he 
might  consign  the  continuance  of  them  in  successful  operation 
to  the  hands  of  others,  at  the  General  Assembly  of  1840,  about 
which  time  he  would  conclude  his  sixtieth  year.  *'It  is  a 
favorite  speculation  of  mine,"  he  says,  "  that  if  spared  to 
sixty,  we  then  enter  on  the  seventh  decade  of  human  life;  and 
that  this,  if  possible,  should  be  turned  into  the  Sabbath  of  our 
earthly  pilgrimage,  and  spent  sabbatically,  as  if  on  the  shore 
of  an  eternal  world,  or  in  the  outer  courts,  as  it  were,  of  the 
temple  that  is  above — the  tabernacle  in  heaven.  What  enam- 
ors  me  all  the  more  of  this  idea,  is  the  retrospect  of  my  mother's 
widowhood.  I  long,  if  God  should  spare  me,  for  such  an  old  age 
as  she  enjoyed,  spent  as  if  at  the  gate  of  heaven,  and  with  such 
a  fund  of  inward  peace  and  hope  as  made  her  nine  years'  wid- 
owhood a  perfect  feast  and  foretaste  of  the  blessedness  that 
awaits  the  righteous." 

This,  designed  to  be  his  last  great  effort  for  the  cause  in 
which  he  had  spent  his  strength  so  long,  was  to  embrace  oral 


iET.  58.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  311 

addresses  in  all  important  places  throughout  the  land .  On  the 
18th  of  August,  1838,  *' he  began  a  tour  through  the  south- 
western districts  of  Scotland,  in  the  course  of  which  ten  Pres- 
byteries, embracing  one  hundred  and  seventy  ministers,  were 
visited  :  and  addresses  on  church  extension  were  delivered  in 
Stranraer,  Wigton,  Greenock,  Dunoon,  Kilmarnock,  Ayr, 
Paisley,  Dumbarton,  Hamilton,  Lanark,  and  Biggar.  It  was 
a  new  sphere  of  effort  which  Dr.  Chalmers  had  now  entered. 
He  was  unpracticed  in  extemporary  speaking  ;  and  yet,  with- 
out a  considerable  admixture  of  this  form,  he  found  that  he 
could  not  adapt  himself  to  the  varied  and  promiscuous  audi- 
ences which  he  addressed.  He  had  never  taken  part  in  any 
platform  discussion,  yet  in  such  public  meetings  as  he  now  un- 
dertook to  address,  hostile  collisions  might  occur.  But  he  would 
do  all,  and  dare  all,  for  a  cause  that  was  so  dear." 

About  the  same  time  a  proposal  was  made  to  him  by  Mr. 
William  Campbell,  of  Glasgow,  which  promised  greatly  to 
hasten  the  execution  of  his  plans.  In  view  of  many  cases  of 
extreme  destitution,  and  of  the  scanty  funds  at  command  of 
the  committee,  rendering  it  necessary  to  raise  most  of  the  mo- 
ney for  each  new  church  in  the  place  for  which  it  was  erected, 
Mr.  Campbell  "  suggested  that  a  new  fund  be  created,  espe- 
cially intended  to  meet  cases  of  extreme  destitution  ;  and  that 
this  fund  should  consist  of  contributions  of  one  pound  or  up- 
ward, for  each  of  the  next  hundred  churches  that  should  be 
built.  If  one  thousand  such  subscribers  could  be  obtained  in 
Scotland,  then  one  thousand  pounds,  a  sum  adequate  to  defray 
the  whole  cost  of  the  edifice,  would  be  available  for  each  of 
the  new  buildings.  Mr.  Campbell  himself  offered  twenty-five 
pounds  for  each  such  church,  coming  thus  under  personal  ob- 
ligation for  twenty-five  hundred  pounds.  Dr.  Chalmers  hailed 
the  proposal  v/ith  delight,  and  resolved  to  devote  the  whole 
summer  of  1  839  to  an  effort  to  carry  it  into  execution.  The 
brief  interval  between  the  close  of  the  college  session  and  the 
meeting  of  the  General  Assembly,  was  filled  up  by  visits  to 
Dundee,  Perth,  Stirhng,  and  Dunfermline.  The  General  As- 
sembly was   scarcely  dissolved  when  he  resumed  his  tour, 


312  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

addressing-influential  audiences  at  Brechin,  Montrose,  Arbroath, 
and  making  his  way  to  Aberdeen,  where  a  peculiarly  briUiant 
reception  was  given  to  him.  His  progress  was  interrupted  by 
a  summons  which  called  him  instantly  to  London;  but  the  busy 
and  anxious  negotiations,  in  which  he  there  for  a  time  took 
part,  directed  though  they  were  to  a  new  and  most  embarrass- 
ing subject,  did  not  divert  him  from  his  summer  project,  for 
again,  and  after  only  a  few  days  of  rest  in  Edinburgh,  on  his 
return  from  the  metropolis,  we  find  him  setting  out  on  what  he 
called  his  great  northern  tour." 

On  this  journey  he  visited  the  most  important  places  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,  awakening  an  active  interest  wherever 
he  appeared.  At  Inverness,  no  less  than  two  thousand  pounds 
were  raised  for  the  cause  ;  yet,  upon  the  whole,  the  results  of 
this  tour  of  Scotland,  did  not  meet  his  expectations.  He  had 
set  out  with  the  confident  hope  of  raising  £100,000,  and  of 
makinor  another  addition  of  one  hundred  churches  ;  but  the  in- 
creasing  opposition  to  establishments,  and  the  conflict  with  the 
civil  authorities  defeated  the  design.  The  whole  sum  raised 
was  not  more  than  £40,000.  Upon  presenting  his  report  to 
the  General  Assembly  in  1840,  he  concluded  in  the  following 
words: — "  The  convener  of  your  committee,  who  has  prepared 
the  above  report,  craves  permission  to  close  it  with  one  brief 
paragraph  which  is  personal  to  himself.  He  finds  that  the  la- 
bors and  requisite  attentions  of  an  office  which  for  six  years  he 
has  so  inadequately  filled,  have  now  become  a  great  deal  too 
much  for  him  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  other  labors  and  other  pre- 
parations, more  in  keeping  with  the  arduous  work  of  a  theolo- 
gical professorship,  as  well  as  with  the  powers,  and,  he  may 
add,  the  prospects  and  the  duties  of  advanced  life,  he  begs  that 
he  may  now  be  sufl'ered  to  withdraw.  While  he  rejoices  in 
the  experimental  confirmation  which  the  history  of  these  few 
years  has  afforded  him  of  the  resources  and  the  capabilities  of 
the  Voluntary  system,  to  which,  as  hitherto  unfostered  by  the 
paternal  care  of  Government,  the  scheme  of  Church  Extension 
is  indebted  for  all  its  progress,  it  still  remains  his  unshaken 
conviction  of  that  system  notwithstanding,  that  it  should  only 


JET,    60.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  315 

be  resorted  to  as  a  supplement,  and  never  but  in  times  when 
the  powers  of  infidelity  and  intolerance  are  linked  together  in 
hostile  combination  against  the  sacred  prerogatives  of  the 
church,  should  it  once  be  thought  of  as  a  substitute  for  a  na- 
tional establishment  of  Christianity.  In  days  of  darkness  and 
disquietude,  it  may  open  a  temporary  resource,  whether  for 
a  virtuous  secession,  or  an  ejected  church  to  fall  back  upon  ; 
but  a  far  more  glorious  consummation  is,  when  the  State  puts 
forth  its  hand  to  sustain  but  not  to  subjugate  the  church,  and 
the  two,  bent  on  moral  conquests  alone,  walk  together  as  fel- 
low-helpers toward  the  achievement  of  that  great  pacific  tri- 
umph—  the  christian  education  of  the  people.  He  to  whom 
you  assigned  so  high  and  honorable  an  office  as  the  prosecution 
of  this  object,  and  who  now  addresses  you  in  the  capacity  of 
its  holder  for  the  last  time,  will  not  let  go  the  confident  hope, 
that,  under  the  smile  of  an  approving  heaven,  and  with  the 
blessing  from  on  high,  glorious  things  are  yet  in  reserve  for  the 
parishes  of  Scotland;  and  though  his  hand,  now  waxing  feeble, 
must  desist  from  the  performances  of  other  days,  sooner  will 
that  hand  forget  its  cunning,  than  he  can  forget  or  cease  to  feel 
for  the  church  of  his  fathers." 

'  At  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  Assembly,  Dr.  Chalmers  con- 
tinued at  the  head  of  the  Extension  Committee  for  another 
year,  nor  did  he  retire  from  the  great  field  of  labor  till  two 
hundred  and  twenty  churches — more  than  one-fifth  of  its  whole 
complement  —  had  been  added  to  the  churches  of  the  Estab- 
lishment.* 
27 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

Under  the  Divine  blessing,  the  efiforts  of  Dr.  Chalmers  had 
succeeded  in  working  a  great  revolution  in  public  feeling,  in 
^avor  of  practical  Christianity.  A  spirit  of  devotion  and  reli- 
gious inquiry  prevailed,  which  refused  any  longer  to  sit  down 
contented  under  the  empty  and  drowsy  pulpit  performances 
of  previous  times.  The  younger  clergy  had  also  for  years 
been  carrying  forth  over  the  land  the  progressive  spirit  of 
:heir  beloved  professor,  and  had  given  to  the  evangelical 
party  a  strong  preponderance  in  the  councils  of  the  church, 
which  went  far  to  repair  the  corruptions  of  a  century.  An 
and  was  put  to  the  ordaining  of  elders  merely  with  a  view 
to  holding  a  seat  in  the  General  Assembly  ;  candidates  for 
the  ministry  were  subjected  to  a  closer  examination,  and 
their  course  of  instruction  enlarged  :  a  stricter  supervision  was 
exercised  over  the  conduct  and  doctrine  of  ministers  ;  that  act 
of  the  Assembly  of  1799,  whereby  the  ministers  of  all  other 
denominations  were  excluded  from  occupying  a  pulpit  of  the 
Establishment  on  any  occasion,  was  set  aside,  and  ministerial 
communion  restored  with  the  English  and  Irish  orthodox  Pres- 
byterians, one  entire  body  of  seceders  was  received  into  the 
national  church,  and  great  advances  had  been  made  in  the 
cause  of  foreign  missions  and  of  home  education.  "  In 
1835,  fresh  from  his  field  of  labor  in  the  east,  the  church's 
own  first   and  most  honored   missionary.  Dr.  Duff,  presented 

himself  before  the  Assembly,  and  to  his  fervent  pleadings  on 
(314) 


^T.    60.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  315 

behalf  of  missions,  the  whole  House  gave  back  one  unbroken 
response  of  direct  and  grateful  acquiescence.  Hitherto  it  had 
been  only  on  educational  destitution  existing  in  the  Highlands 
and  Islands  of  Scotland  that  the  General  Assembly  had  fixed 
its  attention.  But  now  its  more  wakeful  eye  was  fastened  on 
the  like  but  more  fatal  destitution  existing  in  the  larp-e  towns 
and  more  populous  districts  of  the  Lowlands ;  and  under  the 
counsels  of  Dr.  Welsh,  and  the  vigorous  agency  of  Mr.  David 
Stow,  of  Glasgow  the  best  basis  was  laid  for  an  improved  and 
extended  national  education  in  the  institution  of  Normal  Schools. 
In  1836,  widening  still  further  the  embrace  of  her  sympathies 
and  efforts,  a  scheme  was  organized,  and  an  annual  collection 
in  all  the  churches  was  ordered,  for  the  promotion  of  Christi- 
anity in  the  British  colonies,  where  so  many  of  our  expatriated 
countrymen,  through  want  of  the  means  of  grace,  had  fallen 
into  spiritual  forgetfulness.  The  year  1838  was  distinguished 
by  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  of  Inquiry  into  the  state 
of  the  Jews,  in  execution  of  which  Dr.  Keith  and  Dr.  Black, 
Mr.  McCheyne  and  Mr.  Bona.r,  journeyed  over  Europe  to  Pal- 
estine— furnishing  that  report  upon  which  a  new  Scheme  for 
the  Conversion  of  the  Jews  was  added  to  those  formerly  exist- 
ing, and  which  received  from  the  christian  public  a  general  and 
cordial  support.  Altogether,  in  evidence  of  the  rekindled  zeal 
and  redoubled  energy  with  which  all  her  public  christian  enter- 
prises were  prosecuted,  we  can  point  to  the  church's  collective 
annual  revenue  for  these  objects  in  the  year  1839,  as  being 
fourteen  times  greater  than  it  had  been  in  1 834.  Speaking  of 
this  brief  but  brilliant  period,  Dr.  Chalmers  says  : — "  We  abol- 
ished the  union  of  offices — we  are  planting  schools — we  are 
multiplying  chapels — we  are  sending  forth  missionaries  to  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  world — we  have  purified  and  invigorated  the 
discipline — we  are  extending  the  church,  and  rallying  our  pop- 
ulation around  its  venerable  standard — we  are  bringing  the 
sectaries  again  within  its  pale — and  last,  though  not  least,  we 
have  reformed  the  patronage  ;  and  our  licentiates,  instead  of  a 
tutorship  in  the  families  of  the  great  as  their  stepping-stone  to 
preferment,  now  betake  themselves  to  a  parochial  assistantship 


316  LIFE    OF   DR.    CPIALMERS.  1840. 

or  to  a  preaching  station,  with  its  correspondent  home-walk  of 
christian  usefulness  among  the  families  of  the  surrounding 
poor,  as  the  likeliest  passage  to  a  higher  place  in  their  profes- 
sion, even  as  it  is  the  best  preparation  for  the  duties  of  their 
high  calling.  And  not  only  is  there  the  visible  glow  of  this 
great  and  wholesome  reform  abroad  over  the  country,  or  in  the 
outer  department  of  the  church,  but  in  the  business  of  its 
courts  and  judicatories,  in  the  General  Assembly  itself,  there 
is  the  same  great  and  obvious  reformation :  so  that,  instead 
of  the  ecclesiastico-political  arena  which  it  once  was,  more  at 
least  than  half  its  time  is  taken  up  with  the  beseeming  cares 
of  a  great  moral  institute,  devising  for  the  christian  good  and 
the  best  interests  of  men  both  at  home  and  abroad." 

It  was  not  possible  to  proceed  far  in  such  a  course  without 
coming  athwart  some  self-seeking  move  of  politics  or  favor- 
itism. 

The  history  of  the  first  collision  of  that  kind  shall  be  re- 
tained in  the  lancruao-e  of  Dr.  Hanna :  "A  few  months  after 
the  passing  of  the  Veto  Law  by  the  Assembly  of  1834,  a  pre- 
sentation was  issued  by  the  Earl  of  Kinnoul  to  the  vacant  par- 
ish of  Auchterarder,  in  Perthshire.  Mr.  Young,  the  presentee, 
was  not  in  orders,  holding  only  a  Hcense  from  his  Presbytery, 
which  permitted  him  to  preach  as  a  candidate  for  the  holy 
office.  After  he  had  preached  on  two  successive  Sabbaths  in 
the  pulpit  of  the  vacant  church,  a  day  was  appointed  for  mod- 
erating in  a  call — that  is,  for  inviting  the  people  to  express 
their  concurrence  in  his  settlement.  In  a  parish  containing 
three  thousand  souls,  only  two  of  its  inhabitants  came  forward 
upon  that  day  to  sign  the  call  ;  and  when,  in  obedience  to  the 
recent  Act  of  Assembly,  an  opportunity  was  afforded  to  those 
male  heads  of  families  whose  names  were  on  the  attested  com- 
munion roll,  of  tendering  their  dissent,  out  of  the  three  hun- 
dred entitled  to  use  this  privilege,  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven,  or  more  than  five -sixths  of  the  whole  number,  gave  in 
their  names  as  dissentients,  and  all  expressed  their  readiness  to 
make  the  solemn  declaration,  that  they  were  actuated  by  no 
factious  or  malicious  motives,   but  solely  by   a  conscientious 


^T   60.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  317 

regard  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  themselves  and  the  congrega- 
tion. To  afford  them  time  for  reconsideration,  and  an  oppor- 
tunity, if  they  chose  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  to  withdraw 
their  names,  the  Presbytery  adjourned  for  a  fortnight ;  but  at 
the  adjourned  meeting,  without  one  exception,  they  all  adhered 
to  their  dissent.  Before  any  final  judgment  was  given,  in  con- 
sequence of  objections  taken  to  some  parts  of  the  Presbytery's 
proceedings,  the  case  went  by  appeal  before  the  Synod  of  Perth 
and  Stirling,  and  afterward  before  the  General  Assembly  of 
1835.  Having  repelled  the  objections  which  had  been  taken 
to  the  actings  of  the  inferior  Court,  the  Assembly  remitted  the 
case  to  the  Presbytery,  with  instructions  '  to  proceed  in  the 
matter  in  terms  of  the  Interim  Act  of  last  Assembly.'  Acting 
under  these  instructions,  the  Presbytery,  on  the  7th  July, 
1835,  rejected  Mr.  Young,  *so  far  as  regarded  that  particular 
presentation.'  Against  this  rejection  the  presentee  entered  an 
appeal  to  the  Synod,  which  he  afterward  abandoned  ;  and  it 
was  with  mingled  curiosity  and  alarm  that  the  church  learned, 
that  in  conjunction  with  the  patron  he  had  raised  an  action 
against  the  Presbytery  before  the  Supreme  Civil  Court,  the 
Court  of  Session.  As  the  action  was  originally  laid,  the  Court 
was  asked  to  review  the  proceedings  of  the  Presbytery  solely 
with  the  view  of  determining  the  destination  of  the  benefice, 
and  declaring  that  the  just  and  legal  right  to  the  stipend  still  lay 
with  the  rejected  presentee.  The  case,  hov/ever,  had  not  been 
in  Court  more  than  a  few  weeks  when  an  ominous  change  was 
made  upon  the  whole  character  of  the  action.  This  change, 
technically  denominated  *  an  amendment  of  the  libel,'  was  ef- 
fected by  the  introduction  of  new  clauses,  in  which  the  court 
was  asked  to  find  and  declare  that  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Young, 
expressly  on  the  ground  of  a  veto  by  the  parishioners,  was 
illegal,  being  contrary  to  statute,  and  that  the  Presbytery  was 
still  under  statutory  obligation  to  Mr.  Young  upon  trial,  and  if 
found  qualified  to  ordain  him  as  minister  of  the  parish.  The 
case,  the  novelty  and  importance  of  which  began  now  to  be 
universally  appreciated,  was  ordered  to  be  heard  before  all  the 
judges.      The  pleadings  began  on  the  21st  November,  and 


318  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1340. 

closed  on  the  12th  of  the  succeeding  month.  On  the  27th 
February,  1838,  and  on  six  subsequent  days,  the  judges  deliv- 
ered their  opinions,  deciding,  by  a  majority  of  eight  to  five,  in 
favor  of  the  pursuers  and  against  the  church.  The  majority 
was  composed  of  the  Lord  President  (Hope),  Lord  Gillies,  the 
Lord  Justice-Clerk  (Boyle),  Lord  Meadowbank,  Lord  Macken- 
zie, Lord  Medwyn,  Lord  Corehouse,  and  Lord  Cunninghame. 
The  minority  consisted  of  Lord  Fullerton,  Lord  Moncrieff,  Lord 
Glenlee,  Lord  Jeffrey,  and  Lord  Cockburn.  The  judgment  of 
the  Court,  delivered  on  the  8th  March,  did  not  cover  the  whole 
of  the  conclusions  craved  by  the  pursuers  ;  but  after  repelling 
the  objections  which  had  been  taken  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Court,  and  the  competency  of  the  action,  restricted  itself  to 
finding,  that  in  rejecting  Mr.  Young,  *  on  the  sole  ground  that 
a  majority  of  male  heads  of  families,  communicants  in  the  said 
parish,  have  dissented,  without  any  reason  assigned,  from  his 
admission  as  minister,  the  Presbytery  have  acted  illegally  and 
in  violation  of  their  duty,  and  contrary  to  the  provisions  of 
certain  statutes  libeled  on.* 

"  Throughout  all  the  lengthened  arguments  delivered  at  the 
Bar  and  from  the  Bench,  the  two  leading  questions  which  were 
carefully  distinguished  from  each  other,  and  subjected  to  sep- 
arate discussion,  were, — 1.  The  legality  of  the  Veto  Law, — 
whetlier  the  church,  under  statute  or  otherwise,  was  legally 
competent  to  enact  such  a  law,  and  whether,  in  enacting  it, 
she  had  violated  any  statute  of  the  realm  ;  and,  2.  The  com- 
petence of  the  Court  of  Session  to  interfere,  in  case  it  should 
find  the  Veto  Law  to  be  illegal,  for  any  other  purpose,  and  to 
any  other  effect,  than  simply  to  regulate  the  destination  of  the 
benefice.  The  pleadings  at  the  Bar,  as  well  as  the  opinions 
delivered  from  the  Bench,  left  a  certain  amount  of  obscurity 
resting  upon  both  these  leading  topics.  It  sometimes  seemed 
as  if  the  alleged  illegality  of  the  Veto  Law  lay  exclusively  in 
the  conclusive  force  bestowed  upon  an  arbitrary  dissent  of  a 
majority,  and  in  the  church  having  thereby  transferred  to  the 
people  a  privilege  which,  though  possessed  by  herself,  she  was 
not  at  liberty  to  alienate  ;  so  that  if  taking  Mr.  Young  upon 


JET.   60.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  319 

trial,  and  looking  upon  his  non-acceptability  as  a  disqualifica- 
tion, she  were  on  that  ground  by  her  own  authority  and  upon 
her  own  judgment  to  reject  him,  she  would  be  guilty  of  no 
breach  of  any  statute.  In  the  arguments,  again,  by  which  the 
competency  of  the  Court  of  Session  to  adjudicate  upon  this 
case  was  sustained,  it  was  difficult  to  know  whether  it  was  af- 
firmed or  not,  that  over  all  such  actings  of  church  Courts  as 
directly  or  indirectly  carried  civil  consequences,  the  Court  of 
Session  claimed  the  same  authority  which  it  possessed  and  ex- 
ercised over  all  the  inferior  civil  tribunals  of  the  kingdom,  or 
whether  any  separate  standing  and  exclusive  jurisdiction  was 
allowed  to  the  ecclesiastical  judicatories.  The  Court  of  Ses- 
sion had  considered  itself  competent  to  declare  that  a  Presby- 
tery w^iich,  acting  under  the  explicit  directions  of  the  supreme 
ecclesiastical  tribunal,  had  done  nothing  but  carry  out  a  law  of 
the  Assembly,  had  done  an  illegal  act.  But  was  it  prepared 
to  do  here  what,  in  every  like  case  of  a  purely  civil  character, 
it  was  its  right  and  duty  to  do — to  order  the  Presbytery  to 
proceed  as  it  directed  ;  and  holding  the  Veto  Law  as  a  nullity 
simply  because  it,  the  Court  of  Session,  held  it  so,  to  take  the 
necessary  steps  toward  the  presentee's  ordination  :  and  in  case 
of  the  Presbytery's  disobedience,  was  it  prepared  by  the  or- 
dinary compulsitors  of  law — by  fine  or  imprisonment — to  en- 
force obedience  to  its  edict  ?  In  itself  the  sentence  pronounced 
by  the  Court  was  equivocal.  Declaring  what  the  Presbytery 
had  done  to  be  illegal,  it  stopped  short  of  declaring  or  prescrib- 
ing what  the  Presbytery  should  do.  That  sentence  might 
have  been  given  though  all  that  the  Court  meant  to  interfere 
with  was  the  appropriation  of  the  stipend.  One  thing  alone 
was  clearly  and  conclusively  determined  by  it,  that  should  the 
Church  persist  in  rejecting  Mr.  Young,  she  incurred  thereby 
the  forfeiture  of  the  benefice.  It  was  to  prevent,  if  possible, 
this  forfeiture  that,  at  its  meeting  in  May,  1838,  the  General;' 
Assembly  instructed  its  law  officer  to  appeal  the  case  to  the/ 
House  of  Lords,  That  there  might  be  no  misunderstanding,' 
however,  of  the  position  relative  to  the  Civil  Courts  assumed 
by  the  church;  the  same  Assembly  passed  a  very  memorable 


320  LIFE    OF    I)R.    CHALMERS.  ^>10 

resolution.  The  church's  separate  and  exclusive  spiritual  ju- 
risdiction, though  not  yet  actually  invaded,  was  most  seriously 
menaced.  Opinions  had  been  uttered,  both  at  the  Bar  and 
from  the  Bench  which  went  to  strip  her  of  all  those  liberties 
and  privileges,  which,  given  her  by  her  Great  Head,  she  be- 
lie^'ed  had  been  amply  guaranteed  to  her  by  statute,  and  which, 
except  in  the  darkest  periods  of  her  persecution,  she  had  freely 
exercised  and  enjoyed.  The  blow  had  not  yet  been  struck  which 
should  lay  her  prostrate  beneath  the  secular  power,  but  the 
arm  was  lifted,  and  there  seemed  no  want  of  will  to  strike. 
Calmly,  solemnly,  resolutely,  in  front  of  the  impending  danger 
she  took  up  her  ground  —  ground  from  which  she  never 
swers'^ed.  By  a  majority  of  183  to  142  the  General  Assembly 
of  1838  resolved— 

"  That  the  General  Assembly  of  this  churcli,  while  they 
unqualifiedly  acknowledge  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the 
Civil  Courts  in  regard  to  the  civil  rights  and  emoluments  se- 
cured by  law  to  the  church  and  the  ministers  thereof,  and  will 
ever  give  and  inculcate  implicit  obedience  to  their  decisions 
thereanent,  do  resolve,  that  as  it  is  declared  in  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  this  National  Established  Church,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  King  and  Head  of  the  Church,  and  hath  therein 
appointed  a  government  in  the  hands  of  church  officers  distinct 
from  the  civil  magistrate,  and  that  in  all  matters  touching  the 
doctrine,  government,  and  discipline  of  the  church,  her  judiccL^ 
tories  possess  an  exclusive  jurisdiction,  founded  on  the  Word 
of  God,  which  '  power  ecclesiastical  (in  the  words  of  the  Sec- 
ond Book  of  Discipline)  flows  from  God,  and  the  Mediator, 
Jesus  Christ,  and  is  spiritual,  not  having  a  temporal  head  on 
earth  but  only  Christ ;  the  only  spiritual  King  and  Governor 
of  his  Kirk ;'  and  they  do  further  resolve,  that  this  spiritual 
jurisdiction  and  supremacy,  and  sole  headship  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  on  w^hich  it  depends,  they  will  assert,  and  at  all  hazards 
defend,  by  the  help  and  blessing  of  that  great  God  who,  in  the 
days  of  old,  enabled  their  fathers,  amid  manifold  persecutions, 
to  maintain  a  testimony  even  to  the  death,  for  Christ's  kingdom 
and  crown :  And,  finally,  that  they  will  firmly  enforce  obedience 


xET.  60.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  321 

to  the  same  upon  all  oflSce-bearers  and  members  of  this  church, 
by  the  execution  of  her  laws  in  the  exercise  of  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal authority  wherewith  they  are  invested." 

*'  Nearly  a  year  had  elapsed  ere  the  Auchterarder  case  was 
heard  before  the  House  of  Lords.  Lords  Brougham  and  Cot- 
tenham  having  delivered  their  opinions  on  the  2d  and  3d  May, 
1839,  and  their  opinions  substantially  agreeing,  the  sentence 
of  that  court  was  passed,  dismissing  the  appeal  and  confirming 
the  deliverance  of  the  Court  of  Session.  For  one  thing,  at 
least,  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  to  thank  these  noble  Lords  : 
their  speeches  cleared  away  all  the  ambiguity  which  had  rested 
upon  the  discussion  of  the  court  below.  It  was  by  a  simple 
and  very  short  line  of  argument  that  they  each  arrived  at  their 
interpretation  of  the  law  of  Patronage.  By  the  concluding 
clause  of  the  Act  of  Queen  Anne  restoring  patronages,  the  Act 
1592  had  been  revived,  and  became  the  governing  statute  upon 
this  subject.  That  statute  ordains  '  that  all  presentations  to 
benefices  be  directed  to  the  particular  Presbyteries,  with  full 
power  to  give  collation  thereupon,  and  to  put  order  to  all  mat- 
ters and  causes  ecclesiastical  within  their  bounds,  accordino-  to 
the  discipline  of  the  Kirk ;  provided  the  aforesaid  Presbyte- 
ries be  bound  and  astricted  to  receive  and  admit  whatsoever 
quahfied  minister  presented  by  His  Majesty  or  lay  patrons.' 
According  to  the  interpretation  put  upon  this  statute  by  Lords 
Brougham  and  Cottenham,  the  sole  province  of  the  church  in 
the  matter  of  collation,  beyond  which  she  cannot  travel  with- 
out subjecting  herself  to  civil  coercion,  is  to  judge  of  the  per- 
sonal qualifications  of  the  presentee,  and  in  so  judging  she 
must  strictly  limit  herself  to  an  inquiry  into  his  life,  literature, 
and  manners.  'With  respect  to  quahfication,'  said  Lord 
Brougham,  *  I  am  somewhat  surprised  to  find  in  the  very  able 
and  learned  arguments  from  the  Bench  below,  an  attempt  made 
to  show  that  qualification  is  of  such  extensive  meaning,  that 
within  its  scope  may  be  brought  the  whole  of  the  matter  at 
present  in  dispute — namely,  the  acceptableness  and  reception 
of  the  party  presented  by  the  congregation  as  finding  favor  in 
their  sight.     *     *     *     j  ^jji  going  to  show  your  Lordships 


322  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

that  no  such  meaning  can  possibly,  by  the  law  of  Scotland,  be 
given  to  the  word  'qualified.'  It  is  a  technical  word  in  this 
question ;  it  is  not  the  word  '  qualified '  used  in  its  general 
sense,  as  you  talk  of  a  man's  qualities — of  his  capacity — of 
his  abilities — of  his  merits,  which  are  all  general  phrases,  and 
none  of  them  technically  defined.  The  word  '  quahfied  '  is  as 
much  a  known  word  of  the  law,  and  has  as  much  a  technical 
sense  imposed  upon  it  by  the  statutes — by  the  law  authorities — 
by  the  opinions  of  commentators — by  the  dicta  of  judges — as 
the  word  '  qualification  '  has  when  used  to  express  a  right  to 
kill  game,  or  when  used  to  express  a  right  to  vote  in  the  elec- 
tion of  a  member  of  Parliament.  *  *  *  It  means  a  qual- 
ification in  literature,  life,  and  morals,  to  be  judged  of  by  the 
Presbytery  ;  and  no  one  talks  of  interfering  with  that  right  of 
so  judging  by  them.'  The  Lord  Chancellor  was  equally  ex- 
plicit :  '  But  if  it  be  clear,  as  it  certainly  is,  that  the  qualifica- 
tions referred  to  in  the  statutes  are  personal  qualifications — 

*  literature,  life,  and  manners  ' — *  there  can  be  no  ground  for 
contending  that  the  dissent  of  the  majority  of  the  heads  of 
families  is  a  disqualification  within  the  meaning  of  the  statutes. 

*  *  ^'  The  absolute  right  of  patronage,  subject  only  to  the 
rejection  of  the  presentee  by  the  adjudication  of  the  Presby- 
tery for  want  of  qualification,  which  is  secured  by  the  statute, 
is  inconsistent  vWth  the  exercise  of  any  volition  by  the  inhab- 
itants, however  expressed.'  Such  an  interpretation  confined 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  church  to  the  one  single  topic  of  judg- 
ing of  the  presentee's  life,  literature,  and  manners,  and  de- 
prived the  congregation  or  general  body  of  communicants  of 
all  standing,  weight,  and  influence  in  the  settlement  of  minis- 
ters. It  was  an  interpretation  altogether  new — new  to  every 
part}^  of  churchmen  in  Scotland,  and  inconsistent  Avith  the 
whole  current  of  hitherto  unchallenged  laws  and  actings  of  the 
church.  When  a  patron  happened  to  present  a  clergyman  al- 
ready ordained,  upon  whose  personal  qualifications  the  church 
had  already  passed  approving  judgment,  in  such  a  case,  and 
according  to  this  interpretation,  no  ground  or  liberty  of  reject- 
ing him  remained.   Lord  Brougham,  referring  expressly  to  such 


^T.  60.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  323 

a  case,  declared  that  nothing  so  wild  had  ever  been  urged  as 
the  supposition  that  the  church  could  claim  or  exercise  such  a 
right ;  and  yet  up  to  this  time,  neither  among  the  lawyers  nor 
the  ecclesiastics  of  Scotland  had  there  ever  been  a  doubt  as  to 
the  church's  possession  of  this  right — her  whole  proceeding  in 
the  instance  of  the  translation  of  ordained  clergymen  from  one 
parish  to  another  was  based  upon  its  existence — in  innumerable 
cases  had  it  been  exercised,  ordained  presentees  having  been 
rejected,  and  yet  never  once,  whether  in  court  civil  or  ecclesi- 
astical, had  this  power  of  rejection  been  challenged.  In  1817, 
Dr.  Hill,  the  leader  of  the  Moderate  party,  introduced  and 
carried  a  measure  in  the  General  Assembly,  by  which  the 
union  of  a  professorship  in  a  college  and  the  ministerial  charge 
of  a  country  parish  was  prohibited.  By  this  new  version,  how- 
ever, of  the  law  of  Patronage,  such  a  measure  was  ultra  vires 
of  the  Assembly,  and  any  professor  rejected  upon  the  ground 
of  this  prohibition  had  only  to  bring  his  case  before  the  Civil 
Court  to  have  his  right  to  admission  confirmed  and  enforced. 
So  universal  was  the  conviction  that  the  church's  prerogative 
extended  beyond  a  mere  adjudication  upon  life,  literature,  and 
morals,  that  when,  in  1833,  Dr.  Chalmers  first  introduced  the 
Veto  Law,  Dr.  Cook's  motion,  which  on  that  occasion  was  car- 
ried, declared  it  competent  for  the  heads  of  families  to  give  in 
objections,  of  w^hatever  nature,  against  the  presentee,  and  for 
the  Presbytery,  if  they  thought  such  objections  to  be  well- 
grounded,  to  reject  him.  In  the  discussion  which  then  took 
place.  Dr.  Cook  strenuously  affirmed  '  that  the  church  regarded 
qualification  as  including  much  more  than  learning,  moral  char- 
acter and  sound  doctrine — as  extending,  in  fact,  to  the  fitness 
of  the  presentees,  in  all  respects,  for  the  particular  situation  to 
which  they  were  appointed." 

'*  Had  the  interpretation  now  put  upon  the  Law  of  Patron- 
age, been  known  in  the  preceding  century,  to  Avhat  an  amount 
of  ecclesiastical  litigation  about  calls  would  it  have  put  an  im- 
mediate and  final  termination.  For  many  years  in  the  earlier 
part  of  that  century,  and  so  long  as  that  party  still  predomin- 
ated which  was  resolved  to  carry  out  the  principle,  which  the 


324  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

church  had  so  often  declared  to  be  a  fundamePxtal  one,  that  no 
pastor  should  be  intruded  into  any  congregation  contrary  to 
the  will  of  the  people,  cases  continually  occurred  in  which  pre- 
sentees were  rejected  on  no  other  ground  whatever,  than  the 
insufficiency  of  the  call  —  their  want  of  acceptability  to  the 
people  ;  but  there  never  was  a  case  of  any  such  rejected  pre- 
sentee having  recourse  to  the  Court  of  Session,  because  neither 
in  the  Parliament  House  nor  in  the  Assembly,  had  this  new 
view  been  broached,  of  the  unfettered  right  of  the  patron. 
jWhen  the  Moderate  party,  under  the  able  guidance  of  Lord 
Brougham's  distinguished  relative.  Principal  Robertson,  began 
that  course  of  policy,  which,  after  many  a  painful  conflict, 
finally  reduced  the  call  to  a  mere  dead  form,  the  struggle  was 
restricted  entirely  to  the  Church  Courts,  which  it  certainly  would 
not  have  been,  had  it  ever  been  imagined  that  so  summary  a 
method  of  settlement  was  available  as  that  supplied  by  the 
decision  of  the  House  of  Lords. 

,  *'  The  mere  novelty,  however,  of  this  interpretation  of  a 
/single  law,  was  not  nearly  so  alarming  as  were  those  general 
/views  as  to  the  constitution  of  the  church,  and  the  nature  and 
i  consequences  of  her  connection  with  the  State,  upon  which 
I  that  interpretation  obviously  and  ostensibly  was  based.  The 
'church's  power,  in  this  single  case,  had  been  limited  to  such 
narrow  boundaries,  because  no  statute  could  be  found  which 
distinctly  and  specifically  bestowed  upon  her  any  other  or 
wider  range  of  action.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  church's  advo- 
cates spoke  of  powers  and  privileges  —  of  a  constitution  and 
polity  possessed  by  her,  not  in  virtue  of  any  donation  by  the 
State,  but  in  virtue  of  her  divine  institution  by  Christ.  It  was 
in  vain  that  they  pointed  to  the  many  express  statutory  recog- 
nitions and  ratifications  of  her  government  and  discipline,  as 
flowing  to  her  from  her  great  spiritual  head.  It  was  in  vain 
that  turning  to  that  very  Act  of  1592,  by  help  of  which  the 
right  of  the  patron  was  to  be  carried  triumphantly  over  all 
those  defenses  against  the  intrusion  of  unacceptable  ministers, 
which  the  church  had  erected,  they  quoted  the  clause  which 
gave  the  church   full  power  to  put  order  to  all  matters  and 


^T.  60.  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  325 

causes  ecclesiastical,  according  to  the  discipline  of  the  KirTc.     It 
was  in  vain  that  they  quoted  another  portion  of  this  same  stat- 
ute, in  which,  refemng  to  and  repealing  a  jDrevious  Act,  which 
had  asserted  the  Royal  supremacy  over  all  persons  and  causes 
ecclesiastical,  it  was  declared  that  it  "  should  no  ways  be  pre- 
judicial, nor  derogate  anything  from  the  privilege  that  God  has 
given  to   the  spiritual  office-bearers  in  the    Kirk,    concerning 
heads  of  religion,  matters  of  heresy,  excommunication,  collation 
or  deprivation  of  ministers,  or  any  such  like   censures  specially 
grounded  and  having  warrant  of  the  Word."     The  statute  had 
spoken   only  of  judging  of  the  presentee's  quahfications,  and 
beyond  that  the  church  must  not  proceed.     If  in  her  judicial 
capacity  she  had  frequently  prevented  the  settlement  of  minis- 
ters, against  whose  "  life,  literature,  and  manners,"  nothing- 
could  be  alleged  ;  if  in  her  legislative  capacity  she  had  passed 
many  laws,  imposing  other  restrictions  upon  patronage  than  the 
single  one  now  allowed,  her  judgments  were  illegal,  her  laws 
were  impotent.     Instead  of  her  own  old  conception   that  she 
had   all    freedom,    except  that  which  statute  specifically  de- 
nied, the  new  conception  was  that  she  had  no  freedom  except 
that  which  statute  specifically  granted.    Adopting  this  concep- 
tion, *  one-half,  and  more  than  one-half,  of  the  privileges  of  the 
church  would  be  disallowed ;  and  she  would  be  rendered  more 
bare  of  honor  and  prerogative,  than  even  any  ordinary  corpo- 
ration, whose  privileges  may  be  asserted   and   ascertained  by 
an  appeal  to  the  general  practice  of  the  constitution.' 

"  In  their  sentence,  the  Court  of  Session  had  refrained  from 
laying  any  order  upon  the  Presbytery,  and  the  House  of  Lords 
did  nothing  more  than  simply  affirm  that  sentence.  In  the 
forwardness  of  his  zeal,  however,  Lord  Brougham  volunteered 
to  instruct  the  Court  of  Session  as  to  their  future  course.  'And 
then,'  said  his  lordship,  '  may  come  this  question.  What  is  the 
Court  of  Session  to  do  upon  the  petitory  part  of  the  summons, 
supposing  that  shall  be  insisted  upon  ?  Enough  it  is  for  me 
to-day  to  observe  that  this  is  not  now  before  us.  But  suppose 
it  were,  I  should  have  no  fear  in  deahng  with  it.  I  should  at 
once  make  an  order  upon  the  Presbytery  to  admit,  if  duly 


326  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

qualified,  and  to  disregard  the  dissent  of  the  congregation  ; 
and  if  they  did  not  admit,  they  broke  the  laws,  they  acted  ille- 
gally, and  were  liable  to  the  consequences,  civil  and  other,  of 

disobeying  the  positive  and  clear  order  of  a  statute." 

"  Sdll,  it  is  affirmed  that  the  Presbytery  may  persist  in  refus- 
ing. My  lords,  it  is  indecent  to  suppose  any  such  case.  You 
might  as  well  suppose  that  Doctors'  Commons  would  refuse 
to  attend  to  a  prohibition  from  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  ; 
you  might  as  well  suppose  that  the  Court  of  Session,  when  you 
remit  a  cause  with  orders  to  alter  the  judgment,  would  refuse 
to  alter  it." 

Never  once  during  all  that  period  when  litigations  about  con- 
flicting presentations,  and  the  settlement  of  ministers  thereupon, 
had  been  so  numerous,  had  the  Court  of  Session  ventured  upon 
such  an  act  as  that  which  they  were  now  so  heartily  counseled 
to  perform.  They  had  been  once  asked  to  do  a  kindred  deed, 
but  they  had  refused  to  interfere,  "because  that  was  interfering 
with  the  power  of  ordination,  or  the  internal  policy  of  the 
church,  with  which  the  lords  thought  that  they  had  nothing  to 
do."  Should  the  Presbytery  persist  in  refusing  to  settle  Mr. 
Young,  one  clause  of  the  very  act  upon  which  so  much  was 
grounded,  might  have  suggested  to  Lord  Brougham  another 
alternative  than  the  one  which  he  had  suggested  :  "  Providing 
always,  in  case  the  Presbytery  refuses  to  admit  any  qualified 
minister  presented  to  them  by  the  patron,  it  shall  be  lawful  to 
the  patron  to  retain  the  whole  fruits  of  the  said  benefice  in  his 
own  hands."  If  Presbyteries  were  under  statutory  obligation 
to  admit  qualified  presentees,  and  by  the  ordinary  compulsitors 
of  the  law  could  be  forced  to  fulfill  such  obligation,  how  came 
such  a  clause  as  this  into  that  very  Act,  by  which,  as  it  was 
alleged,  that  very  obhgation  was  imposed  ?  That  clause,  in- 
deed, stands  upon  the  statute-book  as  a  perpetual  protest 
against  that  series  of  encroachments  upon  the  spiritual  prerog- 
atives of  the  church,  upon  which  the  Court  of  Session  was  now 
hastening  to  embark,  and  a  perpetual  vindication  of  that  posi- 
tion, which,  as  the  sequel  will  indicate,  the  church  felt  herself 
compelled  to  occupy. 


^T.  60.  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  327 

**  The  speeches  of  Lords  Brougham  and  Cottenham  were 
delivered  early  m  May,  1839,  and  had  great  influence  in  de- 
termining the  proceedings  of  the  General  Assembly,  which 
commenced  its  sittings  on  the  16th  of  that  month.  They 
effected  a  very  important  change  in  that  course  of  policy 
which  Dr.  Chalmers  had  been  prepared  to  advise.  He  was  in 
no  way  particularly  wedded  to  the  Veto  Law.  Regarding  it 
only  as  one  mode  of  gaining  a  certain  end — the  hindering  of 
bad,  and  the  promoting  of  good,  appointments — he  was  ready 
to  make  any  change  in  the  mode,  if  only  the  same  end  could 
be  realized.  The  decision  of  the  Court  of  Session  had  made 
it  clear  that  whenever  a  rejection  under  the  Veto  Law  took 
place,  a  forfeiture  of  the  temporalities  of  the  living  would  en- 
sue. But  up  to  the  time  when  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Lord 
Brougham  had  delivered  their  opinions,  he  had  been  convinced 
that  if  relinquishing  the  form  of  procedure  established  by  the 
Veto  Law,  and  falling  back  upon  her  own  intrinsic  powers,  the 
church  were  to  sit  in  judgment  upon  each  case  of  settlement 
as  it  occurred,  she  would  be  able  to  prevent  all  improper  intru- 
sion of  parties  upon  reclaiming  congregations.  He  had  been 
prepared,  therefore,  to  advise  that  the  Assembly  should  repeal 
the  Veto  Law ;  and,  with  a  general  declaration  of  a  resolution 
to  maintain  the  principle  of  Non-Intrusion,  should  commit  the 
whole  matter  in  the  first  instance  to  the  Presbyteries  of  the 
Church.  These  speeches  of  the  two  chancellors  taught  him 
that  a  veto  by  the  Presbytery  would  now  be  held  to  be  as 
illegal  as  a  veto  by  the  congregation  ;  and  that  to  repeal  the 
Veto  Law  would  bring  them  no  nearer  to  the  effecting  of  such 
a  harmony  between  the  law  of  the  State  as  interpreted  by  the 
highest  legal  functionaries  of  the  realm,  and  the  law  and  prac- 
tices of  the  church,  for  the  prevention  of  intrusion,  as  should 
hinder  the  dissevering  of  the  benefice  from  the  cure  of  souls. 
Assuming  that  the  church  were  to  stand  firm  in  her  purpose,  to 
take  no  part  in  the  ordination  of  men  whom  she  conscientiously 
believed  to  be  unfit  for  that  particular  charge  to  which  they 
had  been  presented,  it  was  obvious  that  the  desired  harmony 
could  be  attained  only  through  the  intervention  of  the  Legisla- 


328  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

ture.  A  direct  and  immediate  application  to  the  Legislature 
seemed,  therefore,  the  fittest,  if  not  the  only  course  for  the 
church  to  pursue.  For  six  years  past,  Dr.  Chalmers  had  not 
been  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  reading  his  annual  report  on  Church  Extension,  he  had 
taken  little  part  in  the  general  management  of  church  affairs. 
But  a  truly  momentous  crisis  had  now  arrived,  before  which 
his  strong  purpose  of  retirement  gave  way,  and  every  energy 
of  his  nature  was  devoted  to  the  guidance  of  the  church  through 
the  troubled  and  perilous  passage.  He  entered  the  conflict 
with  an  anxious  but  unembarrassed  spirit.  Mere  party  ties 
had  but  little  hold  on  him.  With  many  of  the  opinions  held, 
and  many  of  the  sentiments  uttered  by  some  of  the  most  prom- 
inent evangelical  leaders,  he  had  no  sympathy.  He  did  not 
participate  in  the  conviction  that  the  right  to  choose  their  own 
ministers,  belonged,  by  divine  donation  to  the  people.  He  dis- 
liked when  the  contest  on  which  the  church  had  now  fairly  en- 
tered was  represented  as  a  contest  for  the  rights  of  the  chris- 
tian people;  nor  could  he  approve  of  the  phraseology,  rife  now 
in  some  quarters,  according  to  which  the  privileges  of  commu- 
nicants, in  the  matter  of  the  appointment  of  their  religious 
instructors,  was  spoken  of  as  part  of  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  had  made  his  people  free.  Beheving  in  the  existence 
of  no  divine  right,  wedded  to  no  abstract  theory,  his  position 
was,  that  the  church  should  be  left  to  carry  out  her  own  con- 
scientious convictions — should  be  left  unbribed  and  unfettered 
to  do  what  she  thought  best  for  the  christian  good  of  the 
people  ;  and,  as  his  own  convictions  most  cordially  vrent  along 
with  what  the  church  had  declared  to  be  a  fundamental  princi- 
ple of  her  policy,  he  was  prepared  at  any  hazard,  to  take  any 
necessary  step,  at  once  for  the  preservation  of  the  church's 
general  freedom,  and  the  protection  of  the  church's  humblest 
congregations.  The  General  Assembly,  upon  whose  deliberations 
and  decisions  so  much  was  now  depending,  met  at  Edinburgh  on 
the  16th  of  May,  1839.  Scarcely  had  the  necessary  preliminaries 
been  concluded,  when  Dr.  Cook,  the  leader  of  the  Moderate 
party  rose  to  say  that  there  was  one  question  of  such  pre-emi- 


^T.    60.  LIFE   OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  329 

nent  importance,  that  he  wished  the  day  for  its  discussion  to  be 
fixed  without  delay;  intimating,  at  the  same  time,  his  intention 
to  submit  a  resolution  regarding  it  to  the  House.  On  the  fol- 
lowing Monday,  three  motions  were  read  and  tabled  ;  one  by 
Dr.  Cook,  one  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  one  by  Dr.  Muir.  The 
discussion  was  fixed  to  be  on  Wednesday,  and  for  several  hours 
before  the  Assembly  convened  upon  that  day,  the  house  was 
crowded  in  every  corner.  The  days  were  past  when  the  Edin- 
burgh public  suffered  an  Assembly  to  go  by  with  httle  other 
notice  than  that  which  the  military  cortege  of  the  Commissioner 
excited.  Interests  were  now  at  stake,  in  which  Scotland's  re- 
motest extremities  were  concerned  ;  and  the  great  heart  of  the 
body  ecclesiastic,  beat  fuller  and  stronger  as  each  returning 
Assembly  came  round.  Participating  in  those  deep  and  sol- 
emn feelings,  which  had  gathered  many  a  group  of  the  faithful 
over  the  land  around  the  throne  of  grace,  the  General  Assem- 
bly, before  the  debate  began,  called  upon  the  venerable  min- 
ister of  Kilsyth  to  engage  in  prayer.  Dr.  Cook  opened  the 
discussion.  His  motion  was  to  the  eflfect  that  the  Assembly 
should  hold  the  Veto  Law  as  abrogated,  and  proceed  as  if  it 
never  had  passed.  Dr.  Chalmers's  motion  consisted  of  three 
parts.  The  first  embraced  an  acknowledgment  of,  and  acqui- 
escence in,  the  loss  of  the  temporalities  of  the  living  of  Auch- 
terarder  ;  the  second  contained  the  expression  of  a  resolution 
that  the  principle  of  Non-Intrusion  was  not  to  be  abandoned;  and 
the  third  proposed  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  confer 
with  the  Government,  in  order  to  prevent  any  further  collision 
between  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities.  The  magnifi- 
cent oration  in  which  Dr.  Chalmers  supported  this  motion,  oc- 
cupied three  hours  in  its  delivery;  and  so  great  and  exliausting 
was  the  effort,  that  he  had  to  retire  from  the  court  immediately, 
nor  was  he  able  to  return  to  give  his  vote  at  the  close  of  the 
debate.  The  discussion  had  commenced  at  twelve  o'clock  on 
Wednesday  the  22d,  and  at  two  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the 
following  day,  when  it  was  announced  as  the  result  of  the  vote, 
that  Dr.  Chalmers's  motion  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  forty- 
nine,  the  irrepressible  cheer  that  burst  from  the  galleries,  told 
28 


330  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

in  what  direction,  and  how  strongly,  the  popular  current  was 
running." 

Consequent  upon  this  vote  a  committee  was  appointed  with 
Dr.  Chalmers  at  its  head,  whose  first  effort  "  was  to  obtain 
from  the  Legislature  a  confirma.tion  as  to  civil  consequences  of 
the  Veto  Law."  As  the  best  way  of  opening  negotiations, 
they  concluded  to  send  a  large  deputation  to  London,  and  Dr. 
Chalmers  was  induced  to  interrupt  his  northern  tour,  in  order 
to  assist  in  it.  In  company  with  Dr.  Gordon,  Dr.  Dewar,  Dr. 
Candlish,  and  others,  he  accordingly  proceeded  to  wait  upon 
the  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  some  of  the  more  eminent 
parliamentary  leaders.  Lord  Melbourne,  who  was  then  pre- 
mier, had,  on  the  occasion  of  a  former  deputation  on  the  sub- 
ject, expressed,  in  his  own  refined  style,  a  hope  that  *'  that 
d — (i  fellow  Chalmers  was  not  among  them,"  and  now,  while 
treating  Dr.  Gordon  and  the  rest  with  respectful  attention,  most 
carefully  avoided  Dr.  Chalmers.  The  sifting  which  his  vacil- 
lating conduct  in  relation  to  the  question  of  new  endowments 
received,  had  made  him  cautious  of  coming  in  contact  with  the 
same  strong  intellect  again. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  deputation  felt  encouraged  by  their  re- 
ception, having  received  the  assurance,  from  several  members 
of  the  government,  "  that  they  were  fully  impressed  with  the 
importance  of  the  subject,  and  would  give  it  their  most  serious 
consideration,  and  that  they  would  give  instructions  to  the 
Lord  Advocate  to  prepare,  along  with  the  Procurator,  a  meas- 
ure to  be  submitted  to  the  cabinet,"  and  that,  "  in  the  disposal 
of  those  livings  which  are  at  the  nomination  of  the  Crown,  its 
patronage  wdll  most  certainly  be  exercised  in  accordance  with 
the  existing  law  of  the  church,  a  resolution  which  appHes  to 
nearly  one-third  of  the  parishes  of  Scotland." 
/\  In  1835  another  case  of  conflict  between  the  civil  and  eccle- 
y^^  siastical  powers  occurred.  The  Crown,  as  patron  of  the  parish, 
presented  Mr.  Clark  as  assistant  and  successor  to  the  aged  and 
infirm  minister  of  Lethendy.  In  conformity  to  the  veto  of  the 
congregation,  the  Presbytery  refused  to  ordain,  and  the  case 
being  carried  by  appeal  before  the  General  Assembly,  the  Pres- 


ST.  59.  LIFE    OF    DB.    CHALMERS.  331 

byteiy  Avas  sustained.  Afterward,  Mr.  Clark  brought  an  action 
against  the  Presbytery  in  Court  of  Session.  The  minister  of 
Lethendy  in  the  meanwhile  died,  and  the  Crown  finding  the 
parish  still  vacant,  issued  another  presentation  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Kessen  ;  the  Presbytery,  when  about  to  ordain  him,  were 
served  with  an  interdict  from  the  Court  of  Session,  forbidding 
them  to  proceed.  Craving  advice  of  the  General  Assembly, 
which  met  in  1838,  they  were  by  an  almost  unanimous  voice 
of  that  body,  ordered  to  go  forward  with  the  ordination.  Upon 
the  day  appointed  for  that  purpose,  when  the  Presbytery  had 
assembled,  "  the  agent  of  Mr.  Clark  sought  and  obtained  leave 
to  read  an  opinion  from  an  eminent  lawyer  in  Edinburgh.  It 
came  from  the  Dean  of  Faculty,  the  leading  counsel  and  chief 
adviser  in  all  the  legal  measures  taken  against  the  church.  It 
was  sufficiently  startling,  and  had  the  ministers  who  sat  to 
listen  to  it  been  men  of  infirm  principle  or  yielding  purpose,  it 
might  well  have  shaken  their  determination,  for  it  hung  over 
them  the  weightiest  terrors  of  the  law.  '  The  members  of  the 
Presbytery,'  said  the  dean,  '  will  most  infallibly  be  committed 
to  prison,  and  most  justly.'  It  had  been  said,  that  in  acting 
as  he  had  done,  Mr.  Clark  had  been  guilty  of  contempt  of  the 
church,  and  some  had  even  spoken  of  depriving  him  of  his 
license,  so  as  to  take  from  him  the  ground  that  gave  him  his 
legal  standing.  The  dean  at  once  placed  the  rights  of  Mr. 
Clark  upon  what  seemed  to  him  a  broader  and  surer  basis. 
*  The  deliverance  of  the  Assembly  attempts  illegally  to  tram- 
ple on  Mr.  Clark's  rights  as  a  British  subject ;  for  any  man  in 
this  country  who  adheres  to  its  doctrines,  is  entitled  to  he  a  member 
of  the  Established  Church.  The  rights  of  Mr.  Clark  as  a  pro- 
bationer, in  this  respect,  are  as  sacred  as  those  of  a  layman. 
He  was  legally  entitled  to  his  license,  and  he  holds  it  as  a  Brit- 
ish subject.'  Perhaps  it  was  their  clear  conception  of  the 
length  to  which  such  a  doctrine  would  go  in  exposing  the  whole 
discipline,  as  well  as  the  whole  government,  of  the  church  to 
secular  dictation  and  control,  which  helped  to  fortify  this  Pres- 
bytery against  all  the  arguments  and  threats  by  which  they 
were  assailed.     Unmoved  by  these,  they  ordained  Mr.  Kessen 


332  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1839. 

to  be  minister  of  Lethendy.  They  had  now  to  face  a  more 
trying  ordeal.  The  act  of  ordination  had  no  sooner  been  con- 
summated than  a  complaint  was  lodged  against  them  for  a  breach 
of  interdict,  and  they  were  summoned  to  appear  at  the  bar  of  the 
Court  in  Edinburgh,  on  the  14th  June,  1839.  In  itself,  it  was 
a  formidable  enough  matter  to  be  dragged  from  their  quiet 
country  charges  and  to  be  pilloried  for  public  observation  in  an 
uncongenial  court,  and  before  an  unsympathizing  bar.  But  it 
was  as  criminals,  guilty  of  a  contempt  of  constituted  authori- 
ties —  it  was  for  punishment  as  such  that  they  were  to  appear. 
The  dean  had  pledged  his  word  that  they  should  be  imprisoned, 
and  there  were  not  wanting  other  tokens  that  his  prophesy  might 
be  verified.  A  very  deep  sympathy  on  their  behalf  was  ex- 
cited, and  one  or  two  of  the  leading  clergymen  of  Edinburgh 
resolved  to  accompany  them  to  the  bar.  The  day  arrived. 
When  the  twelve  judges  took  their  places  on  the  bench,  they 
had  a  court  room  before  them  crowded  densely  to  the  door. 
The  Presbytery  was  summoned  to  appear.  They  entered, 
accompanied  by  a  few  friends.  The  crowd  through  which  they 
passed  had  already  closed,  when  once  more  it  opened,  and  with 
meek,  but  dignified  demeanor.  Dr.  Gordon  stepped  forward  to 
place  himself  at  their  side.  There  was  something  singularly 
appropriate  in  the  act.  No  minister  of  equal  talent  had  been 
more  unobtrusive,  or  shown  a  stronger  aversion  to  popular  agi- 
tation, or  anything  like  public  display.  But  now  that  clergy- 
men, who  had  mingled  in  the  strife  of  parties  as  little  as 
himself  were  called  to  sufi'er  for  conscience'  sake,  he  felt 
compelled,  in  the  most  public  manner  to  countenance  and  sup- 
port them. 

'*  '  Gentlemen,'  said  the  Lord  President,  after  their  names 
had  been  read  over,  and  the  citation  read,  '  I  have  to  ask  you, 
one  and  all,  whether,  by  yourselves  or  counsel,  you  have  any- 
thing to  say,  and  what  you  have  to  say,  in  explanation  or  vin- 
dication of  your  conduct  ?' 

**  'As  my  name,'  said  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stirling,  of  Cargill,  '  is  the 
first  on  the  list,  and  as  I  happen  to  be  the  senior  minister  pre- 
sent, I  have  been  intrusted  by  my  brethren  with  the  statement 


^T.  59.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  333 

which  they  wish  to  make  to  the  court.'  The  following  state- 
ment was  then  read  by  him  :  '  My  Lords — We  appear  in  obe- 
dience to  the  citation  of  your  lordships,  inasmuch  as  we  hold 
it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  subjects  to  render  their  personal  com- 
pearance when  cited  by  the  civil  courts;  and  being  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  obligation  of  giving  all  honor  and  reverence 
to  the  judges  of  the  land,  we  disclaim  any  intention  of  disre- 
spect to  the  court  in  what  we  have  done.  But  in  ordaining  to 
the  office  of  the  holy  ministry,  and  in  admitting  to  the  pastoral 
charge,  to  which,  in  our  procedings  complained  of,  we  strictly 
limited  ourselves,  we  acted  in  obedience  to  the  superior  church 
judicatories,  to  which,  in  matters  spiritual,  we  are  subordinate, 
and  to  which,  at  ordination,  we  vowed  obedience.'  Mr.  Kes- 
sen,  having  read  a  similar  statement,  the  judges  retired  for 
consultation,  and  the  court  adjourned.  By  a  narrow  majority 
the  clergymen  escaped  imprisonment,  and  were  subjected  only 
to  the  solemn  censure  of  the  court.  In  pronouncing  the  cen- 
sure, the  Lord  President  took  occasion  to  say — *  I  am  directed 
by  the  Court  to  signify  that  it  was  not  without  considerable 
difficulty  their  Lordships  brought  themselves  to  adopt  this  len- 
ient measure;  but  they  desired  me  to  state,  that  if  you  or  any 
other  Presbytery  of  the  church  were  ever  brought  before  them 
again  under  similar  circumstances,  you  and  they  will  be  dealt 
with  in  a  very  different  manner.  The  ordinary  punishment  for 
disobedience  to  the  law,  by  a  breach  of  interdict,  is  imprison- 
ment ;  and  I  am  directed  to  say,  that  if  a  case  like  the  present 
should  occur  again,  that  punishment  will  be  resorted  to.'  " 

The  church  and  the  civil  authority  were  now  in  direct  con- 
flict, each  claiming  to  be  in  the  exercise  of  their  constitutional 
rights.  The  matter  was  about  to  come  before  the  Legislature 
for  decision,  and  had  the  church  enjoyed  the  harmonious  sup- 
port of  her  own  members,  the  judgment  in  her  favor  might 
have  been  less  doubtful;  but  the  party  called  Moderate,  though 
now  in  the  minority,  were  still  struggling  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power  to  retard  that  progress,  which  they  could  not  entirely 
obstruct.  When  Dr.  Chalmers,  on  the  14th  of  August,  1839, 
presented  before  the  Assembly's  Commission  the  report  of  the 


334  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1839. 

deputation,  no  sooner  had  he  sat  down  than  Dr.  Cook  "  rose 
to  declare  that  the  announcement  just  made  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  country  intended  to  exercise  their  patronage  in 
conformity  with  the  Veto  Law,  appeared  to  him  to  be  nothing 
short  of  a  violation  of  the  law  on  the  part  of  the  Crown.  In 
the  leading  case  which  came  before  the  court,  he  put  forth  all 
his  strength  of  argument  to  prove  that  the  Veto  Law  was  now 
defunct  —  the  decision  of  the  civil  courts  had  blotted  it  out  of 
the  statute-book  of  the  church.  The  casting  of  such  an  impu- 
tation on  the  Crown,  and  the  continuance  of  a  vigorous  oppo- 
sition in  the  church  courts,  though  calculated  to  increase  the 
existing  embarrassments,  may  have  appeared  to  the  Moderate 
party  necessary  for  the  vindication  at  once  of  their  principles 
and  their  consistency.  We  can  offer  no  such  excuse  for  the 
next  step  taken  by  the  Dean  of  Faculty.  If  not,  as  generally 
believed,  the  prompter,  he  had  been  the  vigorous  promoter  of 
all  the  litigation  by  which  the  church  had  been  harassed. 
The  struggle  had  now  been  carried  to  a  different  arena,  where 
his  interference  was  less  called  for,  and,  perhaps,  not  so  appro- 
priate. He  had  power,  however,  even  in  that  quarter  to  hin- 
der the  church's  getting  what  she  asked  ;  and  with  the  laborious 
diligence  which  distinguished  all  his  doings,  he  exerted  that 
power  in  the  production  of  an  enormous  pamphlet,  given  to 
the  public  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Commission."  An  able 
response  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Chalmers  was  issued  Avithin  the 
same  year.  But  this  difference  among  the  professed  friends 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  must  have  operated  unfavorably 
upon  the  minds  of  men,  such  as  most  of  the  members  of 
Parliament  were,  ignorant  of  the  real  nature  of  her  constitution 
and  claims. 

"In  June,  1 837,  Mr.  Edwards  was  presented  to  the  church  and 
parish  of  Marnoch.  Having  acted  previously,  for  a  period  of 
three  years,  as  assistant  to  the  former  incumbent,  he  was  well 
known  to  the  parishioners,  and  so  unacceptable  were  his  minis- 
trations, that  at  their  urgent  and  almost  unanimous  desire,  their 
aged  pastor  had  dispensed  with  his  services.  In  a  parish 
whose  population  was  about  2800  souls,  his  call  was  signed  by 


^T.  59.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  335 

one  solitary  communicant,  the  keeper  of  the  inn  at  which  the 
Presbytery  were  wont  to  dine.  Out  of  300  heads  of  famihes 
whose  names  were  on  the  communion-roll,  261  tendered  their 
dissent.  Acting  under  special  direction  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly 1838,  the  Presbytery  of  Strathbogie  rejected  Mr.  Edwards; 
and  on  this  rejection  being  intimated  to  the  patrons,  the  trus- 
tees of  the  Earl  of  Fife  presented  another  individual  to  the 
charge.  Upon  the  issuing  of  this  second  presentation,  Mr. 
Edwards  applied  for  and  obtained  an  interdict  from  the  Court 
of  Session,  prohibiting  the  Presbytery  from  proceeding  with 
the  settlement.  After  due  consideration  of  this  document,  and 
with  the  declared  principles  and  recent  practice  of  the  church 
before  them,  the  Presbytery  resolved  '  That  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sion having  authority  in  matters  relating  to  the  induction  of 
ministers,  and  having  interdicted  all  proceedings  on  the  part 
of  the  Presbytery  in  this  case,  and  it  being  the  duty  of  the 
Presbytery  to  submit  to  their  authority  regularly  interponed, 
•"the  Presbytery  do  delay  all  procedure  until  the  matters  in  dis- 
pute be  legally  determined.'  This  judgment  was  brought 
under  review  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1839.  The  cir- 
cumstances being  precisely  similar  to  those  which  had  occurred 
at  Lethendy,  the  Presbytery  might  have  been  enjoined  to  take 
the  same  course  which  had  been  prescribed  to  the  Presbytery 
of  Dunkeld.  Instead  of  this  they  were  simply  instructed  to 
suspend  all  further  proceedings  in  the  matter  till  the  following 
General  Assembly.  Avoiding  all  immediate  and  direct  colli- 
sion between  the  Presbytery  and  Court  of  Session,  this  decis- 
ion was  one  which  even  those  who  disapproved  most  vehe- 
mently of  the  recent  actings  of  the  church  could  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  obeying  ;  and  it  was  framed  so  as  to  lay  the  least  pos- 
sible pressure  upon  the  majority  of  a  Presbytery  well  known  to 
be  so  affected.  While  the  church  was  dealing  thus  tenderly 
with  her  own  children,  under  the  first  indications  of  a  refrac- 
tory and  rebellious  spirit,  Mr.  Edwards  was  pressing  on  the 
action  which  he  had  raised  against  the  Presbytery  in  the  Court 
of  Session  ;  and  in  June,  1839,  he  obtained  a  judgment  in  his 
favor,  by  which  it  was  declared  that,  notwithstanding  the  veto 


336  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1889. 

put  by  the  people  on  his  appointment,  the  Presbytery  were  still 
bound  to  take  him  upon  trial  with  a  view  to  ordination.  As 
this  judgment  was  purely  a  declaratory  one,  unaccompanied 
by  any  such  order  as  Lord  Brougham  had  suggested  as  the 
proper  means  of  enforcing  obedience,  the  Presbytery  with  per- 
fect safety,  and  without  violating  their  own  convictions,  might 
have  delayed,  at  least  till  the  compulsitors  of  law  had  been  ap- 
plied. Their  newborn  allegiance,  however,  to  the  Court  of 
Session  was  too  ardent  to  admit  of  delay,  and  no  sooner  was 
its  sentence  notified,  than,  with  needless  haste,  and  with  a  vio- 
lence and  irregularity  of  movement  which  found  no  defender, 
even  among  the  leaders  of  the  Moderate  party,  by  a  majority 
of  seven  to  three,  they  resolved  to  bid  open  defiance  to  their 
ecclesiastical  superiors,  and  to  proceed  forthwith  to  settle  Mr. 
Edwards  as  minister  at  Marnoch.  It  was  in  these  circum- 
stances that  the  case  came  before  the  Commission  of  Assem- 
bly on  the  11th  December,  1839.  In  vain  were  the  seven  re- 
fractory clergymen  asked  to  reconsider  their  extraordinary  reso- 
lution; in  vain  were  they  assured  that  if  they  would  only  desist 
procedure,  and  in  the  meantime  do  nothing,  all  judgment  upon 
their  contumacy  would  be  waived,  and  the  Commission  would 
be  content  simply  to  remit  the  matter  to  the  General  Assembly 
in  May.  They  would  make  no  concession.  They  would  neither 
express  any  regret  for  the  past,  nor  give  any  promise  as  to  the 
future.  Its  authority  thus  openly  defied,  its  laws  and  decisions 
thus  daringly  trampled  on,  what  was  the  church  to  do  ?  In 
the  way  of  prevention  rather  than  of  punishment — to  take 
from  them  for  a  season  that  power  which  they  had  openly  de- 
clared it  to  be  their  purpose  to  employ  in  a  manner  so  fla- 
grantly unlawful — it  was  resolved  that  they  should  be  sus- 
pended from  exercising  the  functions  of  the  holy  ministry.  In 
a  speech  of  extraordinary  ability,  Dr.  Candlish  moved  this 
resolution,"  which  was  warmly  supported  by  Dr.  Chalmers, 
and  carried  by  a  majority  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-one  to 
fourteen.  The  refractory  majority  of  the  Presbytery  of  Strath- 
bogie  being  thus  suspended  from  office,  the  minority  were  in- 
structed to  take  measures  for  supplying  the  vacant  parishes 


^T.    59.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  337 

with  ministerial  services.  A  deputation  of  committee  appointed 
to  open  a  friendly  correspondence  with  the  suspended  ministers 
appointed  Aberdeen  as  a  place  of  meeting,  but  on  arriving 
there,  were  met  by  '*  a  legal  agent  who  put  into  their  hands  a 
paper  signed  by  the  seven  clergymen,  in  which  they  declined 
the  interview.  Already,  indeed,  had  proof  too  palpable  been 
afforded  that  all  hope  of  reconcihation  was  gone.  On  the  day 
after  that  on  which  the  sentence  of  suspension  was  passed,  and 
while  the  Commission  was  still  sitting,  a  notarial  protest,  at  the 
instance  of  these  ministers,  was  served  upon  that  court ;  and  a 
few  days  thereafter,  as  if  no  judgment  against  them  was 
in  force,  they  assembled  as  if  in  Presbytery,  and  proceeded  to 
take  Mr.  Edwards  upon  trial.  The  protection  sought  for  and 
relied  upon  was  that  of  the  Civil  Court,  to  which  they  pre- 
sented an  application,  in  which  they  called  upon  the  court  to 
suspend  the  sentence  of  the  Commission — to  prevent  its  inti- 
mation and  execution — to  prohibit  the  minority  from  acting  as 
a  Presbytery,  and  to  interdict  all  clergymen  of  the  church 
from  preaching  or  discharging  any  of  the  functions  of  the  min- 
istry in  any  of  their  parishes.  The  demand  was  so  broad  and 
startling  that  even  the  Court  of  Session  for  the  moment  drew 
back.  'In  this  case,'  said  the  Lord  President,  'the  Court  are 
prepared  to  grant  the  interdict,  but  not  to  the  full  extent 
prayed  for.  The  complainers  prayed  the  court  to  interdict  and 
prohibit  the  parties  complained  of  from  preaching  in  the  respec- 
tive parishes  of  the  complainers.  Now,  the  court  could  not 
prevent  any  man  preaching  in  these  parishes.  Any  one 
might  preach  in  the  open  air,  for  instance.  The  court  had 
jurisdiction  only  over  the  parish  churches,  the  churchyard,  the 
schoolroom,  and  the  bell.'  Taking  in  the  meantime  this  limited 
view  of  its  jurisdiction,  the  court  interdicted  the  minority  of 
the  Presbytery,  and  all  others,  from  using,  in  executing  the 
sentence  of  the  Commission,  any  of  the  places  and  buildings 
specified  by  the  Lord  President.  Acknowledging  as  it  so  fully 
did,  the  court's  right  of  entire  control  over  all  its  temporahties, 
the  church  yielded  immediate  compliance  with  this  interdict. 
The  clergymen  appointed  to  intimate  the  judgment  of  the 
29 


338  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1839. 

Commission  either  preached  in  the  open  air  or  under  such  shelter 
as  some  neighboring  she^  or  barn  could  furnish.  Then  and 
afterward  an  opportunity  was  opened  for  the  effective  preaching 
of  the  gospel  over  a  wide  district  of  country.  Some  of  the 
ablest  ministers  of  the  church  were  deputed  by  the  Commission 
to  officiate  in  the  parishes  of  the  suspended  clergymen.  In 
Marnoch,  and  the  seven  parishes  in  its  neighborhood,  their 
warm  and  zealous  ministry  gathered  around  them  crowds  of 
attentive  and  devout  hearers.  '  I  have  no  words/  wrote  one 
of  these  clergymen,  '  to  describe  the  scenes  of  yesterday  at 
Marnoch.  iSever  in  my  life  has  it  been  my  privilege  to  witness 
such  intensity  of  feeling  as  in  that  congregation.  Men  and 
women  were  bathed  in  tears  ;  numbers  rose  to  their  feet,  and 
stood  in  breathless  attention,  and  at  the  close  of  the  service 
all  seemed  unwilling  to  retire.'  In  proportion,  however,  to  the 
interest  excited  among  the  people  must  have  been  the  annoy- 
ance to  the  suspended  clergymen.  Unsatisfied  with  the  exclu- 
sive possession  of  their  churches,  churchyards,  and  school- 
houses,  they  renewed  their  application  to  the  Court  of  Session, 
which,  on  the  14th  February,  by  a  decision  which  outran  all 
its  predecessors,  granted  to  its  full  extent  the  prayer  of  their 
primary  petition.  In  doing  so,  that  court  not  only  suspended 
a  spiritual  censure  passed  by  the  proper  ecclesiastical  authori- 
ties, being  guilty  thus  of  a  direct  interference  with  the  spirit- 
ual discipline  of  the  church,  but  by  drawing  a  fence  round  a 
whole  district  of  the  country,  and  by  prohibiting  any  member 
of  the  Establishment  from  preaching  or  administering  the  sa- 
craments within  its  bounds,  it  at  once  deprived  such  of  the 
people  as  remained  true  to  the  church,  of  all  freedom  to  wor- 
ship God  according  to  their  conscience,  and  it  assumed  the 
right  of  dictating  to  the  church  w^here,  and  where  only,  by 
whom  and  to  whom,  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  were  to  be 
administered.  It  was  an  open  invasion  of  the  most  sacred 
territory  of  the  church,  and  it  met  with  a  resistance  at  once 
prompt  and  decisive." 

Repeatedly  were  interdicts  served  upon  those  clergymen  who 
had  received  appointments  to  preach  in  the  "  banned  district," 


MT.    60.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  339 

but  they,  conceiving  that  the  Civil  Court  had  transcended  its 
legitimate  powers  in  forbidding  them  to  preach,  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  what  proved  to  be  but  empty  threats.  For  notwith- 
standing what  had  been  previously  asserted  of  punishment,  the 
Court  of  Session  did  not  feel  safe  in  risking  its  authority  so  far. 
"  To  give  their  brethren  the  sanction  of  their  example,  Dr. 
Chalmers,  Dr.  Makellar,  Dr.  Gordon  and  others  of  hke  stand- 
ing in  the  church,  in  the  face  of  interdicts  served  personally 
upon  each  of  ihem,  went  and  preached  in  the  district  of  Strath- 
bogie."  ...  "It  was  a  state  of  things,  however,  too  anoma- 
lous to  be  suffered  to  continue."  The  call  for  legislative  inter- 
vention was  imperatively  demanded.  After  the  excitement  of 
considerable  expectation  and  a  delay  of  eight  months,  the  Gov- 
ernment declared  themselves  unable  to  introduce  a  bill  to  Par- 
liament on  the  subject.  Finding  that  to  be  the  case.  Lord  Aber- 
deen, who  had  previously  corresponded  with  Dr.  Chalmers  and 
others  concerned,  determined  to  attempt  a  remedy  for  the  evils, 
and  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  without  any  communication 
with  the  Non-intrusion  party,  save  a  note  to  Dr.  Chalmers,  on  ' 
the  5th  of  April,  1840,  brought  in  a  bill  before  the  House  of 
Lords,  which  he  conceived  would  effect  that  end  ;  but  which 
unfortunately  only  led  to  further  disappointment.  By  this  bill 
parishioners  were  allowed  to  state  objections  of  all  kinds  to  the 
presentee  ;  *'  but  it  obhged  them  to  state  the  grounds  and  rea- 
sons of  their  objections.  It  allowed  the  Presbytery  to  take  all 
these  objections  into  consideration,  but  it  permitted  them  to 
give  effect  to  them  only  when  personal  to  the  presentee,  when 
legally  substantiated,  and  when  sufficient,  in  their  judgment,  to 
warrant  his  rejection.  It  altogether  excluded  a  dissent  with- 
out reasons  ;  it  disallowed  unacceptableness  to  the  people 
as  a  disqualification.  It  refused  to  the  Presbytery  the  power 
of  giving  effect  in  any  instance  to  the  popular  opposition 
simply  as  such,  no  matter  how  general  or  how  strong  that  op- 
position might  be.  That  which  the  Veto  Law  had  said  should 
be  done  in  every  instance,  it  said  should  be  done  in  none.  It 
left  the  judgment  of  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  Auchterader 
case  untouched  ;  and  it  offered  no  protection  whatever  against 


340  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

sucli  aggressions  on  the  part  of  tlie  Court  of  Session  as  it  had 
recently  committed.  Even  within  the  Hmited  domain  conceded 
to  the  church,  the  Court  of  Session  would  be  the  final  judges 
whether  the  objections  on  which  a  Presbytery  rejected  were 
such  as  the  Bill  allowed,  and  whether  they  had  been  suffi- 
ciently substantiated.  The  Presbytery  might  have  the  strong- 
est possible  conviction  that,  acting  within  the  provisions  of  the 
Bill,  they  were  bound  to  reject ;  yet  if  the  Court  of  Session 
thought  otherwise,  they  would  be  bound  to  ordain,  and  if  they 
refused,  all  the  ordinary  consequences  of  disobedience  to  the 
common  law  of  the  country  would  follow.  It  was  nominally 
as  a  remedy  for  an  existing  evil  that  this  Bill  was  introduced, 
yet  it  left  that  evil  just  where  it  found  it.  ISfew  legislation  was 
asked  for  and  required  ;  yet  it  professed  to  be  merely  a  declar- 
atory enactment,  and  did  not  propose  to  effect  any  alteration  in 
the  Law  of  Patronage,  as  interpreted  by  the  two  Chancellors." 

The  Non-intrusionists  were  perfectly  sensible  that  all  the  ob- 
jections of  a  congregation,  however  substantial,  would  go  for 
nothing,  if  admitted  only  upon  those  conditions.  Repeatedly 
had  Dr.  Chalmers  declared  their  doctrine  on  that  point.  In 
his  reply  to  Dr.  Cook  in  the  General  Assembly  on  the  22d  of 
May,  1839,  he  had  said  : 

"  I  am  fully  prepared  for  all  the  wanton  ridicule  which  has 
been  cast  on  a  popular  antipathy  without  reasons,  or  such  rea- 
sons as  can  be  stated  before  a  bench  of  Judges  for  them  to 
judge  upon.  The  Dean  of  Faculty,  in  his  pleading  before  the 
Lords  of  Session,  makes  repeated  and  contemptuous  allusions 
to  this  mystic  and  incomprehensible  something,  too  shadowy 
for  expression,  too  ethereal  to  be  bodied  forth  in  language, 
and  on  which  we  would  reject  the  presentee  —  grounding  our 
rejection  on  a  veto,  itself  without  grounds,  or  at  least  such 
grounds  as  are  capable  of  being  set  forth  and  made  intelligible 
to  the  minds  of  other  men.  Now,  if  there  be  one  thiner  of 
which  we  are  more  confident  than  another,  it  is  that  we  have 
all  philosophy  upon  our  side,  and  all  that  is  sound  in  the  expe- 
rience of  human  nature.  Not  in  Christianity  alone,  but  in  a 
thousand   other   subjects   of   human  thought,  there   may   be 


iGT.  60.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  341 

antipathies  and  approvals,  resting  on  a  most  solid  and  legitimate 
foundation  —  not  properly,  therefore,  without  reasons  deeply 
felt,  yet  incapable  of  being  adequately  communicated.  And 
if  there  be  one  topic  more  than  another  on  which  this  phenom- 
enon of  the  human  spirit  should  be  most  frequently  realized, 
it  is  the  topic  of  Christianity — a  religion,  the  manifestation  of 
whose  truth  is  unto  the  conscience;  and  the  response  or  assent- 
ing testimony  to  which,  as  an  object  of  instant  discernment, 
might  issue  from  the  deep  recesses  of  their  moral  nature,  on 
the  part  of  men  with  whom  it  is  a  felt  reality — able,  therefore, 
to  articulate  their  belief,  yet  not  able  to  articulate  the  reasons 
of  it.  There  is  much,  and  that  the  weightiest  part  by  far  of 
the  internal  evidence  for  Christianity,  that  rests  on  the  adapt- 
ations which  obtain  between  its  objective  truths  and  the  felt 
necessities  or  desires  of  our  subjective  nature — adaptations  pow- 
erfully and  intimately  felt  by  many  a  possessor  of  that  nature, 
who  is  yet  unable  to  propound  them  in  language,  far  less  to 
state  or  vindicate  them  at  the  bar  of  judgment.  And  if  ever 
the  prerogatives  of  the  human  conscience  were  at  one  time 
more  cruelly  trampled  on  than  at  another,  it  has  been  within 
the  last  century,  and  at  the  bar  of  this  House — when  the  col- 
lective mind  of  a  congregation,  who  both  knew  and  loved  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  has  been  contemptuously  set  at  naught ; 
and  the  best,  the  hohest  feelings  of  our  Scottish  patriarchs,  by 
lordly  oppressors  sitting  in  state  and  judgment  over  them,  were 
barbarously  scorned.  In  that  age  of  violent  settlements,  these 
simple,  these  unlettered  men  of  a  rustic  congregation,  could 
say  no  more,  yet  said  most  truly  of  the  intruded  minister,  that 
he  did  not  preach  the  Gospel,  and  that  in  the  doctrine  he  gave 
there  was  no  food  for  the  nourishment  of  their  souls.  I  cannot 
image  a  more  painful  spectacle  than  such  men  as  these,  the 
wortheis  of  the  olden  time,  at  once  the  pride  and  the  preserving 
salt  of  our  Scottish  commonwealth,  placed  under  the  treatment 
and  rough  handling  of  an  able,  jeering,  ungodly  advocate  ; 
while  coarse  and  contemptuous  clergymen,  booted  and  spurred 
for  riding  committees,  were  looking  on  and  enjoying  the  scene; 
and  a  loud  laugh  from  the  seats  of  these  assembled  scorners 


34:2  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

completed  the  triumph  over  the  religious  sensibilities  of  men, 
who  could  but  reclaim  with  their  hearts  and  not  with  their 
voices.  This  was  the  policy  of  Dr.  Robertson,  recently  lauded 
in  high  places —  a  policy  which  has  dissevered  our  population 
from  our  church,  and  shed  most  withering  influence  over  the 
religion  of  the  families  of  Scotland.  Re-enact  this  policy  if  you 
will,  and  you  place  your  Kirk,  as  a  National  Establishment,  on 
the  brink  of  its  sure  annihilation.  Have  a  care,  ye  professing 
friends  of  order  and  loyalty,  have  a  care  lest,  by  a  departure 
from  the  line  of  resolute  and  unswerving  principle,  you  strip 
the  church  of  all  moral  weight  in  the  eyes  of  the  community. 
Think  of  the  deadly  enemies  by  whom  we  are  encompassed ; 
and  have  a  care  lest,  by  one  hair-breadth  of  deviation  from  the 
path  of  integrity  and  lionor,  you  cause  the  hearts  of  these  Phil- 
istines to  rejoice. 

"  This  discernment  of  the  Gospel,  this  just  perception  of 
truth  on  the  part  of  a  home-bred  peasantry,  though  unable  to 
assign  the  principles  or  reasons,  is  not  more  marvelous  than 
is  their  just  perception  of  beauty,  though  unable  to  assign 
the  philosophy  of  taste.  Hear  the  most  philosophical  of  all 
our  poets,  Akenside,  who,  in  his  '  Pleasures  of  Imagination,* 
bids  us 

"  '  Ask  the  swain 
Who  journeys  homeward  from  a  summer  day's 
Long  labor,  why,  forgetful  of  his  toils 
And  due  repose,  he  loiters  to  behold 
The  sunshine  gleaming  as  through  amber  clouds 
O'er  all  the  western  sky.     Full  soon,  I  ween, 
His  rude  expression  and  untutor'd  air, 
Beyond  the  power  of  language,  will  unfold 
The  form  of  beauty  smiling  at  his  heart. 
How  lovely,  how  commanding  !' — '  Heaven, 
In  every  breast  hath  sown  these  early  seeds 
Of  love  and  admiration.' 

**  In  the  one  case  our  peasant  feels,  and  correctly  feels,  an 
admiration,  which,  unskilled  in  metaphysics,  he  cannot  vindi- 
cate ;  in  the  other,  he  knows  the  truth,  though,  unskilled  in 
logic,  he  can  neither  state,  nor  defend  the  reasons  of  it. 

"  '  It  has  been  frequently  remarked,'  says  Dugald  Stewart, 


^T    60.  LIFE    OF    Dll.    CHALMERS.  343 

'  that  the  justest  and  most  efficient  understandings  are  often 
possessed  by  men  who  are  incapable  of  stating  ?o  others,  or  even 
to  themselves,  the  grounds  on  which  they  proceed  in  forming 
their  decisions.' — 'An  anecdote  which  I  heard  many  years  ago, 
of  a  late  very  eminent  judge  (Lord  Mansfield),  has  often  re- 
curred to  my  memory,  while  reflecting  on  these  apparent  in- 
consistencies of  intellectual  character.  A  friend  of  his  who 
possessed  excellent  natural  talents,  but  who  had  been  prevented, 
by  his  professional  duties  as  a  naval  officer,  from  bestowing  on 
them  all  the  cultivation  of  which  they  were  susceptible,  having 
been  recently  appointed  to  the  government  of  Jamaica,  hap- 
pened to  express  some  doubts  of  his  competency  to  preside  in 
the  Court  of  Chancery.  Lord  Mansfield  assured  him  that  he 
would  find  the  difficulty  not  so  great  as  he  apprehended. 
*  Trust,'  he  said,  *  to  your  own  good  sense  in  forming  your  opin- 
ions ;  but  beware  of  attempting  to  state  the  grounds  of  your 
judgments.  The  judgment  will  probably  be  right ;  the  argu- 
ment will  infallibly  be  Avrong.'  " 

*'  I  wouM  take  the  verdict  of  a  congregation  just  as  I  take 
the  verdict  of  a  jury,  without  reasons.  Their  judgment  is  what 
I  want,  not  the  grounds  of  their  judgment.  Give  me  the  ag- 
gregate will;  and  tell  me  only  that  it  is  founded  on  the  aggre- 
gate conscience  of  a  people  who  love  their  Bibles,  and  to  whom 
the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  precious  ;  and  to  the  expression 
of  that  will,  to  the  voice  of  the  collective  mind  of  that  people, 
not  as  sitting  in  judgment  on  the  minor  insignificancies  of 
mode,  and  circumstance,  and  things  of  external  observation, 
but  as  sitting  in  judgment  on  the  great  subject-matter  of  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus — to  such  a  voice,  coming  in  the  spirit, 
and  with  the  desires  of  moral  earnestness  from  such  a  people, 
I  for  one  would  yield  the  profoundest  reverence." 

Such  were  the  antagonistic  positions  of  Lord  Aberdeen's  Bill 
and  the  Veto  Law  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  all  eflforts  to 
reconcile  them  were  ineftectual.  A  correspondence  between  Dr. 
Chalmers  and  Lord  Aberdeen  served  only  more  clearly  to  de- 
fine the  boundary  over  which  neither  of  them  could  pass.  The 
General    Assembly    of   1840,  by  a  majority  of   221   to  134, 


344  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

**  resolved,  that  in  its  then  existing  form  they  could  not  acquiesce 
in  the  Bill,  and  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  church  to  use  every 
method  to  prevent  its  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  Legisla- 
ture." The  Bill  was  subsequently  withdrawn  before  it  had 
finally  passed  the  House  of  Lords.  The  fruitlessness  of  all 
attempts  to  obtain  a  recognition  of  their  rights  from  men  who 
either  would  not  or  could  not  understand  or  appreciate  their 
principles,  deeply  grieved  those  who  had  been  the  most  zeal- 
ous friends  of  the  Establishment.  In  this  time  of  their  em- 
barrassment, a  pamphlet  by  Dr.  Chalmers  appeared,  with  the 
title,  "  What  ought  the  Church  and  People  of  Scotland  to  do 
now?  being  a  pamphlet  on  the  Church  Question,  with  an  Appen- 
dix on  the  Politics  of  the  Church  Question."  In  that  appen- 
dix the  following  sentences  occur :  "  After  all,  I  now  owe  an 
act  of  justice  to  the  Whigs.  I  understand  justice  in  the  same 
sense  as  equity  (cequitas)  ;  and  I  am  now  bound  to  say,  that 
if  on  the  question  of  church  endowments  I  have  been  griev- 
ously disappointed  by  the  one  party — on  the  question  of  church 
independence  I  have  been  as  grievously  disappointed  by  the 
other.  Of  course,  I  speak  on  the  basis  of  a  very  limited  induc- 
tion ;  but,  as  far  as  the  findings  of  my  own  personal  observa- 
tion are  concerned,  I  should  say  of  the  former,  that  they  seem 
to  have  no  great  value  for  a  church  Establishment  at  all — and 
of  the  latter,  that  their  great  value  for  a  church  Establishment 
seems  to  be  more  for  it  as  an  engine  of  State  than  as  an  instru- 
ment of  christian  usefulness.  The  difference  lies  in  having  no 
principle,  or  in  having  a  principle  that  is  wrong.  In  either  way 
they  are  equally  useless,  and  may  prove  equally  hurtful  to  the 
church  ;  and  though  the  acknowledgment  I  now  make  to  the 
Whigs  be  a  somewhat  ludicrous  one,  if  viewed  in  the  charac- 
ter of  a  peace-offering,  I  am,  nevertheless,  bound  to  declare, 
that,  for  aught  like  church  purposes,  I  have  found  the  Conser- 
vatives to  be  just  as  bad  as  themselves. 

"It  is  for  the  church  now  to  renounce  all  dependence  upon 
men  ;  and  persevering  in  the  high  walk  of  duty  on  which  she 
has  entered,  to  prosecute  her  own  objects  on  her  own  prin- 
ciples— leaving  each  party  in  the  State  to  act  as  they  may." 


^T.  60,  LIFE    OF    DB.    CHALMERS.  345 

The  danger  now  threatening  the  church  was  the  same  as 
that  with  which  she  struggled  in  earher  days,  and  the  majoritj'- 
were  prepared  to  meet  it  in  the  spirit  of  their  fathers.  Unhke 
the  Church  of  England,  that  of  Scotland  recognizes  no  tem- 
poral head.  Her  constitution,  from  the  days  of  Knox,  has 
recognized  'Hhe  right  to  a  free  and  uncontrolled  self-govern- 
ment "  in  all  matters  ecclesiastical.  Times  of  sloth  and  defec- 
tion indeed  occurred  in  her  early  history  :  "  but  from  these 
temporary  disgraces  she  nobly  redeemed  herself.  Under  the 
tyranny  of  the  Stuarts,  four  hundred  of  her  clergymen  volun- 
tarily resigned  their  livings,  rather  than  acknowledge  the  royal 
authority  supreme  within  the  house  of  God.  And  true  to  the 
same  principle,  their  scattered  flocks  were  driven  into  exile, 
shot  down  in  the  wild  morass,  or  executed  on  the  scaffold,  till 
thousands  perished."  And  the  contest  ended  only  with  the 
Revolution,  which  acknowledged  the  church's  independence. 

Another  long  period  of  inactivity  and  spiritual  coldness  had 
been  attended  by  gradual  submission  to  the  secular  powers, 
until  the  more  worldly-minded  already  viewed  the  entire  con- 
trol of  these  powers  established  by  prescriptive  right.  "It 
was  no  false  alarm  which  visited  the  heart  of  Dr.  Chalmers, 
when  at  the  Bar  and  from  the  Bench  he  heard  the  Church  of 
Scotland  pronounced  to  be  a  creature  of  the  State,  and  the 
civil  supremacy  over  her  actings  so  unhesitatingly  and  unlim- 
itedly  affirmed.  That  alarm  was  heightened  when,  for  the  dis- 
charge of  a  purely  spiritual  act,  a  Presbytery  was  summoned 
to  the  bar  of  the  Civil  Court  and  rebuked  ;  and  it  received  a 
full  confirmation  when  the  preaching  of  the  Word  and  the  ad- 
ministering of  sacraments  was  prohibited  in  a  whole  district  of 
the  land.  At  an  early  stage  of  the  conflict  the  paramount  im- 
portance of  the  question,  as  to  the  church's  spiritual  jurisdiction, 
revealed  itself  to  his  eye.  It  was  when  exercised  in  defense 
of  the  privileges  of  the  people,  that  this  jurisdiction  had  been 
in  the  first  instance  assailed,  and  the  two  topics  of  Non-intru- 
sion and  spiritual  independence  had  come  thus  to  be  imphca- 
ted  together.  He  was  most  anxious  to  distinguish  and  keep 
them  separate,  that  its  proper  place  and  its  own  right  relative 


346  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

importance  might  be  assigned  to  each.  In  principle  he  was 
opposed  to  all  violent  settlements,  as  hurtful  to  the  efficac}^  of 
the  christian  ministry,  and  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  true 
religion.  In  no  circumstances,  and  under  no  force  of  compul- 
sion would  he  ever  have  taken  part  or  given  any  sanction  to 
such  an  ordination  as  that  of  Mr.  Edwards  in  the  parish  of 
Marnoch  ;  but  he  was  fully  aware,  notwithstanding,  that  the 
ideas  prevalent  in  Scotland  as  to  the  nature  of  the  pastoral 
relationship,  and  as  to  the  conditions  under  which  the  church 
should  establish  it,  were,  to  some  extent,  peculiar  to  his  coun- 
try, and  that  what  might  be  ruinous  to  the  interests  of  religion 
there  might  not  have  the  same  effect  elsewhere,  and  that  the 
obligations,  therefore,  resting  upon  the  Church  of  Scotland 
might  not  rest  equally  upon  all  other  churches  in  all  other  cir- 
cumstances. It  was  different  with  the  other  principle  brought 
now  into  jeopardy.  In  his  estimate  it  was  a  broad,  a  general, 
a  universal  truth,  free  from  all  accidents  of  place  and  time — a 
truth  for  all  ages,  and  all  countries,  and  all  churches — that 
however  placed  toward,  and  hoAvever  indebted  to,  the  civil 
power,  the  church  of  Christ,  while  giving  her  services,  should 
never  part  with  her  liberties — while  receiving  State  support 
should  never  submit  to  State  control,  save  in  the  disposal  of 
the  State's  emoluments."  Under  the  force  of  this  conviction, 
he  was  led,  in  opening  the  debate  on  Lord  Aberdeen's  Bill,  in 
the  General  Assembly,  to  speak  as  follows  : 

"  Now,  sir,  looking  on  this  part  of  our  case,  keeping  a  stead- 
fast eye  on  the  question  of  our  spiritual  independence,  and 
putting  out  of  view  for  a  moment  the  question  of  Non-intru- 
sion altogether,  there  are  many,  I  trust  very  many,  who  think 
variously  on  the  law  of  patronage  and  its  modifications,  and 
yet  would  harmonize  and  enter  into  one  conjunct  and  firm  pha- 
lanx for  the  vindication  of  our  church's  outraged  privileges  ; 
and  if  there  ever  was  a  crisis  in  our  history — ever  a  period  of 
those  manifold  and  sore  controversies,  among  which  from  in- 
fancy our  church  has  been  cradled,  when  courage  and  consis- 
tency have  been  more  called  for,  it  is  the  day  on  which  we 
have  now  fallen — when  the  poison  of  false  and  hollow  prin- 


^T.  60.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  347 

ciple  is  undermining  our  strength  from  within,  and  thousands 
of  our  deadliest  enemies  from  without  are  on  the  tiptoe  of  high 
expectancy  for  a  coming  overthrow.  Sir,  it  is  a  leading  prin- 
ciple of  our  Presbyterian  constitution,  that  there  is  a  distinct 
government  in  the  church,  which  the  State,  of  course,  must  ap- 
prove ere  it  confers  upon  us  its  own  temporalities  ;  or,  in  other 
words,  that  we  have  as  uncontrolled  a  management  of  our  own 
proper  affairs  as  if  we  received  not  one  farthing  out  of  the 
national  treasury  ;  that  when  in  the  act  of  becoming  an  Estab- 
lishment, we,  in  the  brief  and  emphatic  deliverance  of  my 
friend,  Mr.  Gray,  *  gave  them  our  services,  but  not  our  liber- 
ties,' getting  at  their  hands  a  maintenance  for  our  clergy,  and 
engaging  in  return  for  the  christian  education  of  the  people  ;  a 
conjunction,  we  think,  fruitful  of  innumerable  blessings  both  to 
the  church  and  to  society,  but  in  which  the  value  given  is 
many  hundred-fold  greater  than  the  value  received.  Still,  if 
the  State  be  not  satisfied  with  the  bargain,  they  can  at  any 
time  give  us  up.  If,  over  and  above  our  services  in  things 
spiritual,  they  must  also  have  our  submission  in  things  spirit- 
ual, in  these  we  have  another  Master,  to  whom,  and  to  whom 
alone,  we  are  responsible  ;  and  we  utterly  repudiate,  as  we 
should  an  accursed  thing,  the  sacrilegious  bribe  that  would 
tempt  us  from  an  allegiance  to  Him  ;  for  that  in  these  things 
He  has  the  sole  and  undivided  mastery,  is  a  principle  which 
lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  and  on 
her  giving  up  this,  as  by  the  loosening  of  a  corner  or  a  key- 
stone, the  whole  fabric  will  tumble  into  ruins.  The  establish- 
ment of  this,  as  the  principle  of  our  church,  is  the  peculiar 
glory  of  Scotland,  the  fruit  of  a  hard-won  victory,  after  the 
struggles,  and  the  persecutions  of  more  than  a  hundred  years. 
A  principle  which  has  cost  us  so  much  we  are  not  now  willing 
to  let  go  ;  and  if  the  State  will  insist  on  our  surrender  of  it,  or 
the  forfeiture  of  our  endowments,  we  are  willing  to  try  the 
experiment,  and  to  brave  the  same  cost  over  again.  It  is  a 
principle,  sir,  that  we  have  not  forgotten,  though  it  has  been 
renounced  by  a  few  declarationists  among  ourselves,  and 
although  it  has  faded  away  from  the  recollections  and  feelings 


348  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

of  general  society,  like  an  old  charter  which  might  slum- 
ber in  its  repositories  for  generations,  while  its  articles  remain 
unbroken,  but  which  the  rude  hand  of  violence  will  recall  from 
its  oblivion,  and  quickening  it  anew  into  vigor  and  vitality, 
will  bring  back,  as  if  by  resurrection,  on  the  face  and  to  the 
observation  of  the  world.  It  is  even  so  with  the  grand,  the 
fundamental  principles  of  our  church — its  own  inherent  liberty 
in  things  ecclesiastical — familiar  as  household  words,  Bishop 
Burnet  tells  us,  even  to  the  humblest  of  our  peasantry,  but 
which,  suffered  to  lie  quiet  for  a  century  and  a  half,  because 
let  alone,  had  ceased  at  one  time  to  be  spoken  of,  and  so  fallen 
away  from  the  memory,  even  from  the  understandings  of  men. 
From  1688  to  1838 — from  the  time  of  the  Revolution  settle- 
ment to  the  time  when  the  Court  of  Session  gave  forth  its 
interdict  against  the  Presbytery  of  Dunkeld  in  the  case  of  Le- 
thendy — no  civil  power  ever  attempted  to  interfere  with  the 
steps  of  our  ecclesiastical  procedure,  or  to  meddle  with  our 
Establishment  in  aught  but  the  temporalities  which  belong  to 
her.  It  was  the  disturbance  given  then  which  has  aroused  the 
church,  and  will  at  length  arouse  the  nation,  from  its  dor- 
mancy. It  threw  us  back  on  the  first  elements  of  a  question, 
which,  from  the  days  of  our  great-grandfathers,  had  been  set- 
tled and  set  by.  When  conjured  up  again,  it  sounded  like  an 
antique  paradox  on  many  an  ear ;  but  minds  are  gradually 
opening  to  the  truth  and  sacredness  of  our  great  principle,  and 
we  doubt  not  that  the  very  agitations  of  this  controversial 
period  have  flashed  it  more  vividly  and  convincingly  on 
the  understandings  of  men  than  heretofore.  Our  ark  is  now 
in  the  midst  of  conflicting:  billows,  but  so  that  its  flao-  is  all 
the  more  unfurled  by  the  storm  which  has  raised  them,  and 
the  inscription  there,  now  spread  forth  and  expanded  in  the 
gale,  is  making  the  motto  of  our  Establishment  patent  to  all 
eyes,  that  'the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  head  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland.'  Sir,  we  have  nailed  this  color  to  the  mast, 
and  will  keep  by  it  in  all  its  fortunes,  whether  of  tempest  or  of 
sunsliine,  through  which  the  winds  of  heaven  may  carry  it." 
Though  greatly  to  be  regretted,  it  is  certainly  not  to    be 


^T.  60.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  349 

wondered  at  that  the  Assembly  failed  of  unanimity  in  this 
matter.  When  was  so  large  a  body  ever  found  in  which  all 
were  capable  of  duly  appreciating  so  noble  a  principle,  or  of 
incurring  the  risk  of  losing  all  their  earthly  possessions  in  de- 
fense of  it  ?  The  Moderates,  now  commonly  called  by  all  but 
themselves,  the  Intrusionists,  did  not  withhold  their  hands  from 
contributing  to  break  down  that  independence  for  which  their 
colleagues  were  contending.  The  degree  of  their  opposition 
appeared  when  the  case  of  the  Strathbogie  ministers  came  be- 
fore the  Assembly,  when  in  laying  upon  the  table  the  reasons 
for  their  dissent  from  the  final  judgment  of  the  court,  whereby 
the  act  of  the  Commission  in  suspending  was  sustained,  they 
affirmed  that  the  conduct  of  those  ministers  in  taking  their 
orders  from  the  civil  rather  than  the  ecclesiastical  court  was 
"  conformable  to  the  clearest  principles  of  reason,  and  the 
express  injunctions  of  Scripture,"  and  that  in  their  opinion 
"  the  sentence  passed  upon  them  was  unconstitutional,  illegal, 
and  invalid."  In  the  month  of  June  succeeding,  "  a  private 
circular,  signed  by  Dr.  Cook  and  others,  was  sent  among  their 
friends  inviting  them  to  form  an  association,  based  upon  the 
reasons  of  dissent  already  alluded  to,  and  requesting  that  a 
general  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  maturing  the  plans  of  the 
association  should  be  held  in  Edinburgh  on  the  morning  of  the 
12th  of  August."  On  that  same  day  the  regular  meeting  of 
Commission  was  held,  in  which  Dr.  Chalmers,  speaking  of  the 
difficulties  by  which  the  church  was  then  surrounded,  and  re- 
ferring to  certain  ungenerous  remarks  thrown  by  Lord  Aber- 
deen and  Sir  Robert  Peel,  in  Parliament,  referring  the  conduct 
of  the  Non-intrusion  party  to  irritated  feeling,  proceeded  to 
say  : 

"  We  must  stand  out  against  this  series  of  aggressions  thus 
rising  in  magnitude  one  above  the  other,  else  the  most  sacred 
of  the  church's  territories,  the  very  innermost  recesses  of  her 
sanctuary,  will  lie  open  to  invasion,  and  be  trodden  under  foot. 
I  know  the  obloquy  which  will  be  heaped  upon  us  ;  I  have 
heard  the  odious  names  which  are  given  to  this  resistance,  and 
am  prepared  for  them.     If  not  an  impartial  public,  at  least  an 


350  LIFE   or    DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

impartial  posterity  will  judge  aright  between  us  and  our  adver- 
saries, and  tell  whether  it  is  we  who  have  been  the  rebels,  or 
they  who  have  been  the  persecutors.  And  here  I  may  say 
one  word  in  reference  to  those  who  express  the  hope — and  I 
observe  that  Sir  Ptobert  Peel  is  among  the  number — that  we 
shall  give  up  our  personal  feelings  and  submit.  What  these 
personal  feelings  are,  he  has  not  specified,  whether  irritation 
or  a  false  sense  of  honor — the  pride  of  men  who  have  com- 
mitted themselves  and  gone  too  far  to  retreat  without  shame 
and  degradation.  Xever  was  an  appeal  made  so  utterly  wide 
of  the  object  to  sensibilities  which  have  no  existence,  or  if  they 
have,  it  is  in  so  shght  a  degree,  that  they  are  overshadowed 
by  principles  of  such  depth  and  height,  and  length  and 
breadth,  as  to  engross  and  occupy  the  whole  man.  These 
principles,  whether  comprehended  or  not  by  our  adversaries, 
are  the  only  moving  forces  that  tell  or  have  told  on  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  General  Assembly.  The  free  jurisdiction  of 
the  church  in  things  spiritual — the  Headship  of  Christ — the 
authority  of  His  Bible  as  the  great  statute  book,  not  to  be 
lorded  over  by  any  power  on  earth — a  deference  to  our  own 
standards  in  all  that  is  ecclesiastical — and  what  is  more,  a 
submission  unexcepted  and  entire  to  the  civil  law  in  all  that  is 
civil  ; — these  are  our  principles — these,  and  not  personal  feel- 
ings, are  what  you  ask  us  to  give  up,  by  giving  in  to  those  ad- 
versaries who  have  put  forth  an  unhallowed  hand  upon  them. 
And  is  there  no  room  for  a  similar  appeal  being  made  to  them? 
Have  they  no  personal  feelings  in  this  matter — no  feeling  of 
ignominy  in  the  anticipation  of  defeat — no  feeling  of  triumph 
in  the  anticipation  of  victory — no  mortification  of  disappointed 
vanity  should  their  own  battle-cry,  'that  what  firmness  has 
done  before  it  will  do  again,'  be  rolled  back  by  a  resolute  and 
unyielding  church  on  the  head  of  her  haughty  persecutors  ?" 
These  last  words  created  a  tremendous  sensation  among 
both  the  members  and  the  crowd  who  had  assembled  to  listen 
to  the  discussion.  One  of  the  court  ''abruptly  and  impetu- 
ously called  Dr.  Chalmers  to  order;"  but  the  roar  of  tumultu- 
ous approbation  drowned  all  opposition,  and  for  a  few  minutes 


M'T.    60.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  351 

no  speaker  could  be  heard.  When  it  ceased,  Dr.  Chalmers 
continued  : 

"  Is  there  no  inward  chagrin  among  Parliamentary  friends, 
who  now  mourn  over  their  own  abortive  attempts  at  legislation; 
and,  let  me  add,  is  there  no  sense  of  offended  dignity  among 
the  functionaries  of  the  law,  should  it  be  found  that  law — no 
impossible  thing,  surely — has  for  once  in  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  gone  beyond  its  sphere  ?  Which  of  these  two  rival 
elements,  we  ask,  in  all  conscience  and  equity,  ought  to  give 
way  ?  whether  the  feelings  of  men  who,  free  from  all  hazard, 
lose  nothing,  in  whatever  way  the  contest  is  terminated,  or  the 
principles  of  men  who  risk  their  all  for  these  principles,  and 
who,  though  many  of  them  now  in  the  winter  of  life,  w411, 
rather  than  abandon  them,  brave  the  prospect  of  being  driven 
from  their  comfortable  homes,  and  cast  with  their  helpless  and 
houseless  families  on  the  wide  world  ?  1  ask,  is  it  well  for  Sir 
Robert,  from  his  elevated  station  and  seat  of  silken  security,  to 
deal  forth  such  a  lesson  to  the  church  and  the  people  of  Scot- 
land ;  and  while  he  spares  the  patrician,  the  lordly  feelings,  of 
all  in  rank  or  in  office  w^ho  have  leagued  to  bear  us  down,  to 
make  no  allowance  for  the  consciences  of  men  who,  though 
humble  in  condition  yet  high  in  sentiment,  are,  like  their  fath- 
ers before  them,  prepared  to  renounce  all  for  the  integrity  of 
that  church  which  is  at  once  the  glory  and  the  bulwark  of  our 
nation  ?" 

From  this  harassing  warfare,  Dr.  Chalmers's  attention  was 
for  a  time  diverted  by  another  agitation  of  the  subject  of  poor 
laws,  awakened  by  Dr.  Alison's  book,  advocating  the  principle 
of  assessment.  Dr.  Chalmers  defended  his  own  views  before 
the  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  in  Glasgow,  and  after- 
ward, in  a  series  of  lectures,  which  were  pubhshed,  but  failed 
to  convince  his  countrymen  of  the  superiority  of  his  method. 
In  September  and  October,  1840,  he  delivered  a  short  course 
of  lectures  on  education,  before  the  Mechanics'  Institute  in 
Greenock.  About  the  same  time  he  was,  by  some  friends,  put 
in  nomination  for  the  chair  of  Theology  in  the  University  of 
Glasgow,  then  vacant ;  but  such  was  the  opposition  to  him  now 


352  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

among  conservatives,  that  all  their  influence  was  employed  to 
prevent  his  election.  Sir  James  Graham,  Lord  Rector  of  the 
University  at  the  time,  undertook  a  journey  to  Glasgow  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  voting  against  him.  Of  course,  the  rejection 
detracted  as  little  from  the  reputation  of  Dr.  Chalmers,  as  the 
election  would  have  added  to  it ;  but  it  served  to  show  the  bit- 
terness of  political  rancor. 

Their  knowledge  of  this  state  of  feeling  may  have  encour- 
aged the  seven  suspended  ministers  of  Strathbogie  to  the  step 
wliich  they  afterward  took.  Disregarding  the  citation  of  the 
General  Assembly,  and  meeting  each  judgment  of  that  tribu- 
nal with  an  edict  of  the  Civil  Court,  they  continued  to  repre- 
sent themselves  as  the  Presbytery  of  Strathbogie,  and  as  such 
proceeded  to  take  Mr.  Edwards  upon  trial,  and  found  him  quali- 
fied. Mr.  Edwards  himself  obtained  from  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sion an  order  to  ordain  him,  though  what  right  the  Court  of 
Session  had  to  such  an  ecclesiastical  act,  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand. The  seven,  however,  declared  themselves  satisfied 
with  it,  and  appointed  a  day,  Thursday,  the  21st  of  January, 
1841,  to  put  it  in  execution.  "  A  heavy  snow-gale  had  passed 
over  the  country,  choking  up  the  public  roads,  and  covering 
the  earth  to  the  depth  of  two  feet  and  upward.  Stormy,  how- 
ever, as  Wednesday  had  been,  and  feAv  more  stormy  days  had 
been  experienced  for  many  years — deep  as  the  snow^  lay  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  gathered  as  it  was  in  large  and  almost 
impassable  wreaths  on  every  highway  and  byway  in  Banff  and 
Aberdeenshire,  early  on  Thursday  morning  little  bands  of  men 
from  all  the  neighboring  parishes,  moving  on  in  lines,  the 
stoutest  in  advance  breaking  up  a  path  for  his  companions  who 
followed  him,  were  seen  wending  their  way  to  the  church  of 
Marnoch.  In  two  or  three  carriages  drawn  by  four  horses 
each,  the  clerical  actors  and  their  law  agents  were  conveyed  to 
the  same  spot.  A  singular  assemblage  was  gathered  there  to 
greet  their  approach.  Upon  the  trampled  and  slushy  ground 
around  the  kirk,  two  thousand  men  were  standing.  The 
church  doors  were  opened,  and  the  church  was  instantly  and 
densely  filled — thick  groups  gathering  about  doors   and  win- 


^^T.    60.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  353 

dows,  who  could  not  obtain  admittance.  The  lower  part  of 
the  building  was  reserved  for  the  parishioners,  and  the  galler- 
ies for  strangers.  The  court  having  been  opened  by  prayer, 
the  following  dialogue  occurred  : 

-  Mr.  Murray,  one  of  the  elders  of  the  parish—'  I  wish  to 
ask  you  by  whose  authority  you  have  met  here  ?'  " 

"The  Rev.  Mr.  Thomson,  of  Keith,  the  Moderator  of  the 
Presbytery—'  By  the  authority  of  the  National  Church,  and 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  " 

"Mr.  Murray— 'Have  you  any  proof  to  show  that  you 
came  here  by  the  authority  of  the  National  Church  ?'  " 

"  Mr.  Thomson — '  The  meeting  must  be  first  constituted  by 
the  clerk  reading  the  minutes,  and  we  shall  then  answer  your 
question.'  " 

All  the  necessary  documents  having  been  read,  the  Moder- 
ator remarked  that  they  had  one  party  at  the  bar,  and  asked 
if  there  were  any  other  individuals  who  wished  to  appear  as 
parties  in  the  case.  The  question  called  up  Mr.  Murray,  and 
the  interrupted  dialogue  was  resumed,  the  law  agents  of  the 
respective  parties  taking  now  a  part  in  it. 

"  Mr.  Murray—'  Came  you  here  by  the  authority  of  the 
General  Assembly  ?  I  ask  you  that,  before  answering  your 
question.'  " 

"  Mr.  Thomson—'  We  will  give  any  information  to  parties 
at  the  bar,  but  not  to  any  other.  Do  you  intend  to  sist  your- 
self as  a  party  at  the  bar  ?'  " 

"  Mr.  Murray—'  No,  sir ;  but  at  any  rate  I  should  first  re- 
quire to  know  by  what  authority  you  came  here  V  " 

"  Mr.  Peterkin,  of  Edinburgh—'  It  is  impossible  that  any 
person  can  be  heard  who  does  not  appear  as  a  party  at  the 
bar,  and  is  entered  on  the  minutes  a  party  there.'  " 

"  Mr.  Duncan— 'As  agent  for  the  elders,  heads  of  families, 
and  communicants  of  the  parish  of  Marnoch,  and  particularly 
for  Mr.  Murray,  I  put  again  the  question,  which  has  been  as 
yet  refused  an  answer.  We  cannot  appear  as  parties  at  your 
bar,  till  we  are  convinced  of  your  authority.'  " 

"'  Mr.  Thomson— 'Although  we  do  not  admit  the  right  of 
30 


354  LIFE    OF    DB.    CHALMERS.  1840. 

any  party  to  question  us  on  our  authority  for  meeting  here,  yet 
I  have  no  objection  to  say  that  we  are  here  as  the  Presbytery 
of  Strathbogie,  a  part  of  the  National  Church,  assembled  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  " 

"  Mr.  Duncan. — 'Do  you  appear  here  by  the  authority  of 
the  General  Assembly,  or  against  its  authority  V  " 

**  Mr.  Thomson. — '  We  are  sent  here  as  the  Presbytery  of 
Strathbogie,  and  under  the  protection  of  the  law  of  the  land.'  " 

"  Mr.  Duncan. — '  Do  you  give  me  no  reply  to  my  ques- 
tion V  " 

*'  Mr.  Thomson. — *  No,  no.'  " 

"  As  the  authority  of  the  Presbytery  was  not  recognized  by 
the  people,  the  only  alternative  left  to  Mr.  Duncan  was,  as 
their  agent,  and  in  their  name,  to  read  two  protests,  the  one 
signed  by  all  the  elders,  and  the  other  by  four  hundred  and 
fifty  communicants.  In  the  first  of  these,  the  protesters,  ad- 
dressing themselves  to  the  ministers,  said,  '  It  is  with  extreme 
pain  and  disappointment  that  your  personal  position  as  sus- 
pended ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  precludes  us  from 
appearing  before  you  to  lodge  objections  against  the  settlement 
of  Mr.  Edwards,  which  have  been  prepared,  and  are  ready  to 
be  substantiated  before  any  competent  Church  Court.  These 
objections  we  solemnly  declare  to  be  such,  affecting  as  they  do 
the  qualifications,  life,  and  doctrine  of  Mr.  Edwards,  as,  in  our 
opinion,  to  cause  his  deposition  even  if  he  were  an  ordained 
minister,  and  to  preclude  liim  from  admission  in  his  character 
of  a  licentiate  claiming  ordination  as  presentee  to  our  parish 
*  *  Vf  y^Q  earnestly  beg  you  to  consider  the  above,  and 
avoid  the  desecration  of  the  ordinance  of  ordination  ;  but  if 
you  shall  venture  to  disregard  this  representation,  we  do  solemn- 
ly, and  as  in  the  presence  of  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  repudiate  and  disown  the  pretended  ordina- 
tion of  Mr.  Edwards  as  minister  of  Marnoch.  We  deliberately 
declare,  that  if  such  proceedings  could  have  any  effect  they 
must  involve  the  most  heinous  guilt  and  fearful  responsibility  in 
reference  to  the  dishonor  done  to  religion  and  the  cruel  injury 
to  the  spiritual  interests  of  a  united  Christian  congregation.'  " 


J£T.    60.  LIFE    OF    DK.    OHALMEKS.  355 

"  Having  read  the  protest,"  we  quote  now  the  words  of  an 
eye-witness,  "  Mr.  Duncan  said  'As  agent  for  the  elders,  male 
heads  of  families,  and  communicants  of  Marnoch,  I  have  now 
only  to  say,  that  they  take  no  further  part  in  these  unconstitu- 
tional proceedings.  They  wait  a  better  time  and  another  court. 
They  can  have  no  further  business  here,  and  they  will,  I  be- 
lieve, all  accompany  me  from  the  church,  and  leave  you  to 
force  a  minister  on  a  parish  against  the  people's  will,  but  with 
scarcely  one  of  the  parishioners  to  witness  the  deed.'  The 
people  of  Marnoch  immediately  arose  from  their  seats  in  the 
body  of  the  church  :  old  men,  with  heads  white  as  the  snow 
that  lay  deep  on  their  native  hills,  the  middle-aged,  and  the 
young  who  were  but  rising  into  life.  Gathering  up  their 
Bibles  and  Psalm-books,  which  in  country  churches  often  re- 
main there  for  half  a  century,  they  left  the  church,  once  free 
to  them  and  theirs,  but  now  given  up  to  the  spoiler.  They 
went  out,  many  in  tears  and  all  in  grief.  No  word  of  dis- 
respect or  reproach  escaped  their  lips.  They  went  away  in  the 
strong  conviction  that  their  cause  was  with  the  most  Powerful, 
and  that  with  Him  rested  the  redress  of  all  their  wrongs.  Even 
those  who  sat  in  the  pew — the  only  pew  representing  Intru- 
sionism,  were  moved — they  were  awed.  '  Will  they  all  leave  V 
we  heard  some  of  them  whispering.  Yes,  they  all  left,  never 
to  return." 

"  When  they  left  the  church,  the  people  of  Marnoch  assem- 
bled in  a  snowy  hollow,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  v/hich  the 
church  was  built,  and  having  listened  to  a  short  address  from 
Mr.  Duncan,  in  which  he  strongly  urged  that  everything  should 
be  done  with  order,  unity,  and  peace,  they  separated,  and,  with 
a  rare  exercise  of  self-denial  retired  to  their  difierent  homes. 
The  place  left  vacant  by  them  in  the  church  waS'  immediately 
filled  by  a  rush  of  strangers  from  without,  and  a  disgraceful 
scene  of  riotous  disorder  ensued,  which  it  required  the  presence 
of  a  magistrate  to  check.  When  peace  had  been  restored  the 
act  of  ordination  was  completed.  It  Avas  an  ordination  alto- 
gether unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  church,  performed  by 
a  Presbytery  of  suspended  clergymen,  on  a  call  by  a  single 


356  LIFE    OF    DR.    CIIALMEKS.  1841. 

communicant,  against  the  desire  of  the  patron,  in  face  of 
the  strenuous  opposition  of  a  united  Christian  congregation,  in 
opposition  to  the  express  injunction  of  the  General  Assembly, 
at  the  sole  bidding,  and  under  the  sole  authority,  of  the  Court 
of  Session. 

"  The  conduct  of  the  people,  so  decorous  on  the  day  of  this 
ordination,  was  equally  judicious  and  becoming  afterward.  To 
provide  for  the  existing  emergency  they  resolved  to  erect  a 
place  of  worship  for  themselves  in  a  village  three  miles  from 
the  parish  church,  and  v>'here,  whatever  might  be  the  issue,  a 
church  Avould  be  required.  Many  meetings  were  held  over 
Scotland  to  express  sympathy  with  them  in  their  painful  posi- 
tion, and  to  aid  them  in  the  erection  of  this  church."  Only  the 
feeble  state  of  his  health  prevented  Dr.  Chalmers  from  being 
present  at  the  meeting  held  for  that  purpose  in  Edinburgh,  his 
views  were  however  expressed  in  a  letter  to  the  chairman.  The 
same  cause  also,  withheld  him  from  all  public  appearances  on 
behalf  of  the  church  until  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  in 
May,  1841,  and  even  then,  he  had  to  restrict  himself  to  two 
efforts  ;  in  one  of  which,  treating  of  the  general  question,  he 
declared  an  alteration  in  his  sentiments,  "reconciling  him  to  a 
public  movement  for  the  total  abolition  of  lay  patronage  ;  and 
in  the  other,  he  moved  that  the  Assembly  find  the  seven 
ministers  of  Strathbogie  guilty  of  offenses  involving  deposition." 
In  addressing  the  Assembly  on  this  motion,  he  said,  "  We  are 
told  by  the  friends  of  these  gentlemen,  that  in  all  they  have 
done  they  have  been  actuated  by  a  sense  of  duty,  or  by  the 
impulse  of  a  conscience  stirring  within  them,  and  which  they 
found  to  be  irresistible.  We  will  not  deny  this,  and  we  have 
no  interest  in  denying  it ;  but  I  would  ask,  when  we  deposed 
Mr.  Irving,  the  other  year,  for  an  alleged  heresy,  did  we  make 
our  decision  turn  upon  his  conscience  ?  or  did  we  take  evidence 
on  the  consciences  of  Mr.  Maclean  and  Mr.  Dow,  when  we 
took  his  license  from  the  one,  and  his  parocliial  charge  from  the 
other  ?  or  were  we  arrested  by  the  conscience  or  the  conscien- 
tiousness of  that  holy  and  excellent  person,  Mr.  Campbell  of 
Row,  when  we  ejected  him  from  his  status  as  a  minister  of  the 


^T.   61.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEES.  357 

Church  of  Scotland  ?     Sir,  I  know  not  what  the  inward  princi- 
ple of  the  ministers  of  Strathbogie  may  have  been,  nor  will  I 
attempt  any  conjecture  on  this  subject ;  but  I  do  know,  that 
when  forbidden  by  their  ecclesiastical  superiors  to  proceed  any 
further  with  Mr.  Edwards,  they  took  him  upon  trials  ;  and  when 
suspended  from  the  functions  of  the  sacred  ministry  by  a  com- 
mission of  the  General  Assembly,  they  continued  to  preach  and 
to  dispense  the  sacraments — that  they  called  in  the  aid  of  the 
civil  power  to  back  them  in  the  exclusion  from  their  respective 
parishes  of  clergymen  appointed  by  the  only  competent  Court 
to  fulfill  the  office  which  they  were  no  longer  competent  to  dis- 
charge ;  and  lastly,  as  if  to  crown  and  consummate  this  whole 
disobedience — as  if  to  place  the  top-stone  on  the  Babel  of  their 
proud  and  rebellious  defiance,  I  know  that,  to  the  scandal  and 
astonishment  of  all  Scotland,  and  with  a  daring  which  I  be- 
lieve themselves  would  have  shrunk  from  at  the  outset  of  their 
headlong  career,  they  put  forth  their  unlicensed  hands  on  the 
dread  work  of  ordination  ;  and  as  if  in  solemn  mockery  of  the 
church's  most  venerable  forms,  asked  of  the  unhappy  man  who 
knelt  before  them  if  he  promised  '  to  submit  himself  humbly 
and  willingly,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  unto  the  admonitions 
of  the  brethren  of  the  Presbytery,  and  to  be  subject  to  them 
and  all  other  Presbyteries   and  superior  judicatories  of   this 
church  ;'  and  got  back  from  him  an  affirmative  response,  along 
with  the  declaration  that  '  zeal  for  the  honor  of  God,  love  to 
Jesus  Christ,  and  desire  of  saving  souls,  were  his  great  mo- 
tives and  chief  inducements  to  enter  into  the  functions  of  the 
holy  ministry,  and  not  worldly  designs  and  interests.'     Sir,  I 
repeat  I  am  not  able  to  go  into  the  depth  and  the  mysteries  of 
men's  consciences  ;  but  this  I  am  able  to  perceive,  ihat  if  in 
heresy  this  plea  were  sustained,  the  church  would  be  left  with- 
out a  creed  ;  and  that  if  in  contumacy  this  plea  were  sustained, 
the  church  would  be  left  Avithout  a  government,  both  doctrine 
an  I  discipline  would  be  given  to  the  winds,  and  our  jSTational 
Church  were  bereft  of  all  her  virtue  to  uphold  the  Christianity 
of  the  nation,  when  thus  helpless  and  degraded,  she  was  alike 
unable  to  correct  the  errors,  however  deadly,  or  to  control  the 


358  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1841. 

waywardness,  however  pernicious  and  perverse,  of  her  own 
children. 

"The  Church  of  Scotland  can  never  give  way,  and  will 
sooner  give  up  her  existence  as  a  National  Establishment,  than 
give  up  her  power  as  a  self-acting  and  self-regulating  body,  to 
do  what  in  her  judgment  is  best  for  the  honor  of  the  Redeemer 
and  the  interest  of  His  kingdom  upon  earth.  We  can  see 
no  other  alternative.  If  these  men  do  not  humble  themselves, 
their  deposition  is  inevitable.  The  Church  of  Scotland  cannot 
tolerate,  and  what  is  more,  it  could  not  survive  the  scandal  of 
quietly  putting  up  with  a  delinquency  so  enormous  as  that  into 
which  these  brethren  have  fallen.  If  the  vindication  of  her 
outraged  authority  is  indeed  to  be  the  precursor  of  her  dissolu- 
tion as  a  National  Church — if,  in  the  recent  language  of  an 
ofifended  nobleman  within  these  walls — if  this  is  to  be  the  last 
knell  of  the  Presbyterian  estabhshment  in  Scotland,  only  let 
the  Legislature  say  so  :  and  then  let  it  be  seen  whether  or  not 
the  church  of  our  fathers  be  prepared  to  abjure  her  connection 
with  the  State,  rather  than,  bereft  of  all  her  respect,  and  so  of 
all  her  usefulness,  she  will  submit  to  be  vilified  into  a  thing  of 
naught." 

"  Dr.  Cook  moved,  in  opposition,  that  all  proceedings  against 
these  clergymen  should  be  set  aside  as  incompetent,  and  they 
should  be  declared  to  be  in  the  same  situation  in  all  respects 
as  if  no  such  proceedings  had  ever  taken  place."  After  a  long 
debate,  "  Dr.  Chalmers's  motion  was  carried  by  a  majority  of 
ninety-seven  in  a  house  of  three  hundred  and  forty-seven 
members."  The  suspended  clergymen  then,  by  one  of  their 
own  number,  read  a  paper  justifying  their  conduct,  and  retired 
from  the  Assembly.  The  sentence  of  deposition  was  solemnly 
pronounced  upon  them,  after  that  Dr.  Cook  had  read  a  protest, 
in  which  for  himself  and  as  many  as  chose  to  join  him,  he  de- 
clared, "We  regard  it  as  binding  upon  every  member  of  a 
church  established  by  law  to  be  subject  to  the  civil  power  in  all 
matters  declared  by  the  supreme  civil  authorities  of  the  country 
to  aflfect  temporal  rights,  and  that  for  conscience'  sake  ;  and 
firmly  convinced  as  we  are  that  the  said  ministers  have  acted 


^T.  61.  LIFE    OF    1)R.    CHALMEKS.  35^ 

in  conformity  to  this  obligation,  and  that  they  have  done  no- 
thing which  is  not  sanctioned  both  by  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
law,  we  cannot,  without  violating  what  we  owe  to  the  Church 
and  State,  cease  to  regard  these  men  as  still  ministers,  just  as 
if  the  proceedings  against  them  had  never  been  instituted." 
On  next  day,  the  Moderates,  finding,  perhaps,  that  their  pro- 
test of  the  evening  before  had  gone  too  far,  intimated  that 
they  would  make  no  opposition  to  the  motion  that  was  made  not 
to  receive  it.  On  the  evening  of  the  following  day  a  messenger 
at  arms  appeared  at  the  door  "  to  serve  upon  the  Assembly  an 
interdict  against  their  proceeding  to  carry  the  sentence  of 
deposition  into  effect."  Some  little  delay  having  been  occa- 
sioned by  sending  for  the  Royal  Commissioner,  who  happened 
to  be  absent  from  the  house,  the  interdict  was  left  with  the  of- 
ficer in  attendance  at  the  door.  It  was  laid  upon  the  table 
and  the  Assembly  adjourned.  "  On  Monday,  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions, carefully  reciting  all  the  circumstances  as  they  had 
occurred,  and  declaring  the  attempt  thus  made  to  be  a  flagrant 
breach  of  the  privileges  of  the  National  Church,  were  framed, 
and  ordered  to  be  transmitted  to  her  Majesty  the  Queen  in 
Council,  and  without  further  notice  of  the  interference,  the 
business  of  the  Assembly  was  resumed." 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Parliamentary  session  of  1841,  Lord  ? 
Melbourne,  who  was  then  Premier,  intimated  that  it  was  not 
the  intention  of  government  to  propose  any  measure  for  alter- 
ing the  Law  of  Patronage  in  Scotland ;  but  to  enforce  that 
already  existing.  The  manner  of  enforcing  it  which  they  had 
adopted,  was  singularly  indirect,  for  men  professing  to  feel 
themselves  safely  within  the  limits  of  their  legitimate  authority. 
It  appeared  in  the  influence  exerted  against  Dr.  Chalmers  in 
the  Glasgow  election,  and  in  the  rejection  of  Dr.  Candlish  as  a 
candidate  for  the  new  chair  of  Biblical  Criticism  in  Edinburgh, 
on  the  declared  ground  of  his  belonging  to  the  non-intrusion 
party,  or  as  they  expressed  it,  of  his  setting  himself  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  law.  Without  daring  to  inflict  the  penalty  of  the 
law,  the  civil  powers,  it  seems,  had  determined  upon  a  system 
of  petty  annoyance  and  persecution  of  individuals.     "  Had  the 


360  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1841. 

law-officers  of  the  Crown  received  instructions  to  proceed  in 
ordinary  course  to  vindicate  the  authority  of  the  law ;  had 
complaints  against  any  or  all  of  those  clergymen  who  had 
preached  in  Strathbogie  been  lodged  in  Court  and  the  common 
compulsitors  of  law  —  fine  or  imprisonment — been  put  into 
operation  ;  had  the  church  even  authoritatively  been  told  by 
the  government,  that  she  must  either  retrace  her  steps,  undo 
what  she  had  done,  and  submit  to  all  the  adverse  sentences  of 
the  Court  of  Session,  or  be  visited  with  all  the  common  penal- 
ties which  an  infraction  of  law  incurred,  she  would  have  known 
better  what  to  do.  As  it  was,  her  position  was  so  painful,  that 
it  occurred  to  some  ministers  in  Greenock  and  its  vicinity,  that 
instead  of  waiting  till  interminable  litigation  from  without,  and 
a  wider  anarchy  from  within,  rendered  it  impossible  for  her  to 
carry  on  her  government,  she  should  go  forward  to  the  Legis- 
lature, and  insist  either  that  her  spiritual  independence  should 
be  recognized  and  secured,  or  that  the  connection  between  her 
and  the  State  should  be  dissolved.  This  proposal  was  com- 
municated by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  of  Greenock  to  a  few  of  the 
leadinic  friends  of  the  church  in  Edinburf{h."  It  met  with  the 
hearty  approbation  of  Dr.  Chalmers ;  but  from  a  belief  that 
many  of  the  non-intrusionists  would  yet  regard  it  as  premature, 
he  advised  its  postponement.  This  occurred  in  the  month  of 
March,  1841,  and  on  the  5th  of  May,  a  new  Bill  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Scotch  Church  question  Avas  introduced  into  the 
House  of  Lords,  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  a  bill  that  granted 
all  that  the  church  laid  claim  to,  differing  from  the  "  Veto  Law 
only  by  extending  the  right  of  dissent  to  all  male  communi- 
cants, instead  of  restricting  it  to  the  male  heads  of  families,  and 
by  making  specific  provision  for  the  Veto  being  set  aside, 
whenever  it  could  be  proved  to  have  sprung  from  factious  mo- 
tives or  causeless  prejudices."  The  General  Assembly,  by  a 
majority  of  more  than  two  to  one,  declared  its  approval  of  this 
bill  ;  but  before  the  time  for  the  second  reading  of  it  arrived, 
a  new  ministry  was  in  power,  a  new  Parliament  was  elected, 
and  the  active  hostility  of  the  minority  within  the  church,  had 
their   deputation   in   London   to  contradict  the   voice   of  the 


^T    61.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  361 

majority.  Some  of  the  advice  volunteered  by  that  deputation 
to  the  government  was  to  the  jDurport  that  less  timidity  should 
be  exercised  in  inflictino-  the  penalties  of  the  \a.w  upon  their 
brethren,  that  harsher  treatment  would  certainly  succeed  in 
breaking  the  spirit  of  independence  in  the  church,  intimating 
in  the  following  language,  how  very  agreeable  such  a  course 
would  be  to  themselves.  **  If  the  responsible  advisers  of  the 
Crown  shall  be  prepared  to  instruct  their  law-officers  to  main- 
tain in  the  Civil  Courts  the  cause  of  the  ministers  of  Strath- 
bogie,  and  of  others  who  may  be  placed  in  similar  circum- 
stances, and  io  prosecute  for  breach  of  interdict,  etc.,  those  who 
may  in  opposition  to  interdicts  granted  by  the  competent  courts, 
invade  the  rights  of  such  parties,  the  minority  of  the  last  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and  the  large  body  of  office-bearers  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  who  hold  views  in  common  with  that  mi- 
nority, will  have  much  reason  to  be  satisfied.^' 

The  degree  of  resistance  to  the  General  Assembly,  by  its 
own  minority,  amounted  in  more  than  one  instance  to  gratuitous 
insult.  Some  of  them  proceeded  to  the  length  of  assisting  at 
the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  by  the  deposed  ministers. 
Upon  information  of  this  act  of  insubordination,  the  Commis- 
sion "  instructed  the  Presbyteries  to  which  the  offending  minis- 
ters belonged,  to  take  such  steps  as  were  necessary  for  vindi- 
cating the  authority  of  the  church,  and  proposed  that  a  '  solemn 
remonstrance  and  warning'  should  be  prepared  and  addressed 
to  them.  When  the  resolution  to  this  effect  was  carried.  Dr. 
Cook  gave  in  reasons  of  dissent,  the  second  of  which  was  as 
follows  : — '  Because  the  resolution  now  sanctioned,  puts  an  end 
to  all  hope  of  devising  any  measure  by  which  the  members  of 
the  church  might  be  united,  and  imposes  upon  us,  and  upon 
all  who  agree  with  us  in  the  opinion  which  we  have  repeatedly 
expressed  as  to  our  present  distressing  condition,  to  take  such 
steps  as  may  appear  most  effectual  for  ascertaining  from  com- 
petent authority,  whether  we  who  now  dissent,  and  they  who 
concur  with  us,  or  they  who  continue  to  set  at  naught  the  law 
of  the  land,  and  the  decisions  of  the  Civil  Courts  in  what  we 
esteem  a  matter  of  civil  right,  are  to  be  held  by  the  Legisla- 
31 


362  LIFE    OF   DE.    CHALMEKS.  1841. 

ture  of  the  country  as  constituting  the  Established  Church, 
and  as  entitled  to  the  privileges  and  endowments  conferred  by 
statute  upon  the  ministers  of  that  church.'  Instead  of  the 
question  coming  before  the  Legislature  as  one  between  the 
church  and  the  Civil  Courts,  Dr.  Cook  desired  to  present  it  as 
one  between  two  parties  in  the  church  who  could  not  longer 
remain  united,  one  or  other  of  w^hich  must  be  repudiated  by  the 
Legislature.  If  actually  entertained  in  that  form  by  the  ad- 
ministration of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the 
decision  being  in  favor  of  that  party  to  which  Dr.  Cook  was 
attached.  The  prospect  of  so  speedy  a  settlement  demanded 
the  most  prompt  and  vigorous  measures  ;  and  a  special  meet- 
ing of  the  Commission  was  summoned  to  meet  on  the  25th 
August.  Dr.  Chalmers,  who  had  not  been  at  the  previous 
meeting,  resolved  to  be  present  upon  this  occasion,  that  he 
might  sound  the  key-note  of  preparation  for  that  event  which 
he  now  believed  to  be  almost,  if  not  altogether  inevitable.  '  As 
to  the  war  of  argument,'  he  said,  *  that  is  now  over  ;  seeing 
the  time  has  come  when  the  strife  of  words  must  give  place  to 
the  strife  of  opposing  deeds  and  opposing  purposes.  In  this, 
the  ministers  of  the  other  side  have  set  us  the  example.  They 
have  begun  with  deeds  which  we  must  disallow  ;  and  they  now 
tell  us  that  they  mean  to  call  on  the  Legislature  for  their  de- 
claration, which  of  the  two  parties  is  henceforth  to  be  the  Es- 
tablished Church  of  Scotland.  It  is  but  justice  both  to  the 
public  and  to  the  government,  that  they  should  know  how  it  is 
that  we  stand  affected  by  such  an  intimation.  There  has,  1 
fear,  been  a  strange  incredulity  all  along,  in  regard  to  the 
strength  of  our  principles,  or  at  what  hazard,  and  to  what  ex- 
tent of  sacrifice,  we  have  resolved  to  maintain  them.  The 
necessity  is  now  laid  upon  us,  that  we  should  make  a  distinct 
and  articulate  reply  to  this  question,  and  my  fondest  prayer, 
even  as  for  the  salvation  both  of  the  country  and  of  the  church, 
is  for  the  response  of  an  unshrinking  and  undiminished  ma- 
jority that  the  principles  on  which  they  have  hitherto  acted 
they  are  resolved  to  abide  by,  whatever  be  the  hazard,  and 
whatever  be  the  sacrifice.  *   **   *  It  is  our  solemn  duty  to  do 


^T.  61.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  363 

all  we  can  for  the  averting  of  such  a  catastrophe  (the  breaking 
up  of  the  Establishment),  and  heaven  forbid  that  it  should  be 
hastened  on  by  any  indiscretion,  still  less  by  any  disrespect, 
or  any  deed  of  violence  on  our  part.  *  *  *  I  will  proceed  no 
further,  and  for  this  single  reason,  lest  the  language  of  deter- 
mination should  be  interpreted  into  the  language  of  defiance. 
Most  assuredly  I  have  no  desire  that  the  breach  should  be 
any  further  widened  :  and  yet  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance — 
of  the  utmost  practical  importance  for  the  right  settlement  of 
this  question — that  the  state  of  matters  should  be  plainly  un- 
derstood, for  nothing  can  exceed  the  misconception,  cherished 
especially  by  the  higher  classes,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
London.  Be  it  known  unto  all  men,  then,  that  we  have  no 
wish  for  a  disruption,  but  neither  stand  we  in  the  overwhelm- 
ing dread  of  it.  We  have  no  ambition,  as  has  pleasantly  been 
said  of  us,  for  martyrdom  of  any  sort,  but  neither  will  we 
shrink  from  the  hour  or  the  day  of  trial.  In  short,  let  it  be 
distinctly  known,  both  over  the  country  at  large,  and  more 
especially  in  the  camp  of  our  adversaries,  that,  whatever  the 
misgivings  might  be  in  other  quarters,  among  us  there  are  no 
falterings,  no  fears.  Should  what  has  been  termed  the  crisis, 
arrive,  we  know  of  a  clear,  and  an  honorable,  and  withal  a 
christian  outgoing;  confident  in  the  smile  of  an  approving 
heaven  from  above,  and  that  confidence  not  abated  when  we 
look  around  on  the  goodly  spectacle  of  our  friends  and  fellow- 
christians — the  best  and  worthiest  of  Scotland's  sons — in  readi- 
ness to  hail  and  to  harbor  the  men  who  are  willing  to  give  up 
all  for  the  sake  of  conscience  and  of  christian  liberty.  The 
God  whom  they  serve  will  not  leave  them  without  help  or 
without  a  home." 

"  To  be  prepared  for  the  worst,  the  Commission  appointed  a 
large  committee,  with  instructions  to  bring  *  the  principles  and 
privileges  of  the  church,  as  well  as  the  dangers  that  may 
threaten  us,  before  the  government,  the  Legislature,  and  the 
country  at  large,  by  deputations,  public  statements,  meetings, 
and  such  other  means  as  may  appear  expedient.'  The  first 
public  meeting  held  in  fulfillment  of  this  resolution  took  place 


364  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1841. 

in  the  Church  of  St.  Cuthbert's,  Edinburgh,  on  the  evening 
of  the  day  on  which  the  Commission  met.  That  church  ex- 
hibited on  this  occasion  an  extraordinary  spectacle.  Fourteen 
hundred  ministers  and  elders  were  crowded  together  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  building,  while  from  the  double  tiers  of  gal- 
leries as  many  spectators  as  could  force  their  way  into  the 
edifice  were  gazing  down  upon  the  scene.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Gor- 
don occupied  the  chair,  and  a  resolution  to  adhere  at  all 
hazards  to  the  principles  upon  which  the  church  had  taken  her 
stand  was  unanimously  adopted  by  the  vast  assemblage.  The 
alternative  of  separation  from  the  Establishment,  to  which  so 
many  ministers  might  speedily  be  forced,  was  steadily  contem- 
plated, and  tlie  first  hint  thrown  out  of  that  pecuhar  method 
of  sustaining  them  in  their  new  positions  which  Dr.  Chalmers 
had  already  designed.  He  was  the  first  to  give  up  all  hope 
of  a  satisfactory  Parliamentary  adjustment ;  he  was  the  first 
also  to  busy  himself  both  with  the  design  and  the  execution 
of  the  practical  measures  required  by  the  approaching  disrup- 
tion. This  meeting  in  Edinburgh  was  followed  up  by  similar 
meetings  all  over  the  country,  in  which  a  spirit  of  equal  energy 
and  resolution  was  manifested.  This  general  attitude  of  de- 
termination and  preparedness  had  its  temporary  effect.  The 
threatened  appeal  to  the  Legislature  was  not  persisted  in,  and 
the  government  made  a  friendly  instead  of  a  hostile  movement 
toward  the  church.  Taking  the  earliest  opportunity  of  ad- 
dressing the  new  administration.  Commissioners,  appointed  by 
the  church,  had  waited  on  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  presented  a 
memorial  to  the  government.  Almost  immediately  thereafter 
a  proposal  was  made  by  Sir  George  Sinclair  to  the  Non-intru- 
sion committee  for  effecting  a  final  adjustment  of  the  question, 
by  adding  a  clause,  which  he  had  drawn  up,  to  the  bill  of  Lord 
Aberdeen.  Understanding  that  this  clause  recognized  the 
right  of  the  Church  Courts  to  give  effect  to  the  objections 
of  the  people,  if  found  to  be  insuperable,  in  every  case  in 
which  they  considered  it  to  be  their  duty  to  do  so,  the  commit- 
tee, while  carefully  guarding  themselves  against  a  positive  ap- 
proval of  such   a  settlement,  stated  that  it  was  one  to  which 


^T.  60.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  365 

they  could  conscientiously  submit/'  Upon  further  discussion 
it  appeared  that  the  meaning  attached  to  the  clause  by  the 
committee,  was  not  that  which  it  was  construed  as  bearing  by 
the  leading  men  of  the  other  side,  and  it  never  cam'e  before 
Parliament. 

Dr.  Chalmers  was  now  withdrawing  himself,  as  much  as' 
circumstances  would  permit,  from  the  conflict  of  public  busi- 
ness, reserving  his  strength  for  the  emergency  of  a  disruption, 
which  he  foresaw  to  be  inevitable,  and  dedicating  his  days,  ac- 
cording to  a  long  cherished  design,  to  exercises  of  devotion. 
To  this  his  journal,  now  resumed  in  its  former  fullness,  bears 
abundant  evidence,  in  a  number  of  passages  of  such  a  spirit  as 
these  : 

''March  \lth,  1840.  —  Entered  the  seventh  decade  of  my 
life.  I  have  looked  long  at  this  birth-day  as  a  great  moral  and 
spiritual  epoch.  My  God,  enable  me  by  prayer  and  perform- 
ance to  make  it  good.  Quite  sure  that  the  acceptance  of  Christ, 
with  a  full  reliance  on  Him  and  the  confident  appropriation  of 
His  righteousness,  is  the  transition  step  to  a  life  of  happy  and 
prosperous  obedience.  0  my  God,  give  me  to  hold  this  fast, 
and  to  realize  by  it  a  present  salvation — the  light  and  liberty 
and  enlargement  of  one  of  thine  own  children.  0  that  my 
heart  were  a  fountain  of  gracious  things,  which  might  flow  out 
with  gracious  influence  on  the  hearts  of  my  acquaintances,  and 
more  particularly  of  the  members  of  my  family. 

''April  \bth. — 0  for  quiet !  Great  need  of  repose.  Gleams, 
too,  of  right  and  religious  feeling.  Think  of  my  creatureship, 
but  not  habitually,  not  closely  enough.  What  a  revolution 
would  it  be  if  I  had  just  an  adequate  and  practical  sense  of  the 
God  who  made  me  !  The  very  sense  of  being  made  by  ano- 
ther, how  it  should  annihilate  the  sovereignty  of  self — how  it 
should  subordinate  and  keep  in  check  the  waywardness  of 
one's  own  will.  What  hast  thou,  0  man,  that  thou  didst  not 
receive  ? 

"April  nth. — Growing  distaste  for  the  burdens  of  public 
business.     Pray  for  wisdom  amid  the  manifold  difficulties   of 


366  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1841. 

my  position.     Visit  me,  0  God,  with  light  and  love  from  thy 
sanctuary. 

''May  6ik. — Sadly  agitated  about  church  matters,  and  things 
looking  very  doubtful.  But  saddest  of  all  is  the  distress  and 
decay  of  religious  feeling,  and  the  want  of  a  system  of  practi- 
cal self-discipline. — 0  my  God,  enable  me  to  wait  upon  thee 
without  distraction  ;  and  I  pray  for  wisdom  to  clear  my  way 
through  the  difficulties  by  which  I  am  encompassed.  My 
retrospects  of  the  day  that  is  past  are  exceedingly  dim ;  and 
the  work  of  self-examination  therefore,  in  that  proportion,  un- 
satisfactory.    Search  me  and  try  me,  0  God. 

"November  9th. — Yesterday  being  Sabbath,  I  employed  in 
part,  as  usual,  in  the  perusal  of  difficult  theology,  when  I  was 
visited  by  a  sense  of  the  injunction — '  Thou  shalt  not  do  any 
WORK.'  On  that  day  let  me  rest,  and  let  it  be  a  day  not  of 
study,  but  of  sentiment  and  of  sentiment  allied  with  repose, 
such  as  resting  in  God,  having  peace  and  joy  in  believing, 
waiting  on  God,  rejoicing  in  hope,  patient  under  injuries  or  in 
any  sort  of  tribulation. — 0  grant  that  by  a  right  use  of  the 
weekly  Sabbath  my  old  age  may  be  mellowed  into  the  Sab- 
bath of  my  life  ;  and  let  me  experience  that  in  the  quietness 
and  confidence  of  the  seventh  day  there  is  a  recruiting  of 
strength  for  the  duties  and  the  exercises  of  the  other  six. 

''Sunday,  May  \Qth. — Was  heavy  when  I  awoke  this  morn- 
ing ;  but  did  experience  relief  and  elevation  by  the  effort  of  a 
simple  faith.  Have  adopted  a  new  system  of  Sunday  readings, 
confining  myself  to  a  prayerful  reading  of  Scripture.  Last 
Sunday  began  with  John  i,  and  to-day  John  ii.  Have  had 
two  pleasant,  and,  let  me  hope,  two  spiritual  Sabbaths,  to  some 
degree,  in  consequence.  Was  much  delighted  by  my  ordinary 
Bible  passage  this  morning  in  1  Sam.  ii, — Hannah's  prayer, 
*  For  by  strength  shall  no  man  prevail.'  Still  very  deficient  in 
my  attention  as  a  hearer  at  church,  though  to-day  better  than 
usual.  Feel  now  that  to  be  spiritually-minded  is  Hfe  and 
peace — at  least,  of  this  very  certain,  that  I  shall  have  no  peace 
without  it ;   and  let  me  hope  that  this  experience  will  shut  me 


^T.  61.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  367 

more  up  to  a  life  of  religion.  Find  that  sermons  from  the  pul- 
pit or  chapters  in  the  Bible  which  would  fail  to  interest  me  were 
I  only  bestowing  a  cursory  attention  upon  them,  become  inter- 
esting when  I  make  an  effort  to  realize  the  objects  of  which 
they  treat.  Familiarize  me,  0  God,  more  and  more  with  the 
things  of  faith  and  eternity. 

"Sunday,  23c/. — Had  my  Sabbath  Bible  exercise,  and  mean 
to  persevere  in  it.  The  chapter  of  the  day  was  John  iii.  My 
chief  thought  was  on  the  efficacy  of  faith  as  apart  from  con- 
ception, and  faith  too  in  the  naked  word,  either  with  or  without 
a  lively  manifestation  of  the  archetype  :  our  safety  and  spirit- 
ual health  hanging  on  the  first  ;  our  sensible  comfort  mainly 
depending,  I  should  imagine,  on  the  second.  Let  me  here  re- 
cord my  prayer  to  God  for  sustenance  and  succor  and  guidance 
through  the  fatigues  and  difficulties  of  the  coming  week  (Gen- 
eral Assembly);  and  O  that  He  would  lead  me  back  to  this 
retreat  in  safety,  and  enable  me  to  write  of  His  gracious  an- 
swer to  the  voice  of  my  supplications.     Hide  me  in  thy  pavilion, 

0  God,  from  the  strife  of  tongues.  Give  me  the  preparation 
of  the  heart  and  answer  of  the  mouth.  Cause  my  way  to 
please  thee,  that  enemies  might  be  at  peace.  And,  0  defend 
the  church,  and  bring  her  out  of  ail  her  perils  into  a  haven  of 
security  and  quietness.  Let  me  be  without  carefulness,  rolling 
the  whole  burden  of  my  anxieties  upon  God. 

"July  23d. — Have  great  need  of  the  life  of  faith.  I  have 
sad  infirmities  of  temper.  My  God,  help  me  to  overcome  all 
the  obstructions  which  lie  in  the  way  of  my  perfect  observance 
of  the  second  law.  How  miserably  deficient  in  the  grace  of 
endurance.     Help  me,  0  God  ! 

"■September  21th. — Began  this  day  my  Institutes  of  Theology. 

1  pray  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  work,  and  that  faith  and 
His  glor}^  may  be  the  single  aim  of  my  heart.  I  have  great 
comfort  in  quiet  and  leisurely  and  thorough  study. 

"  October  od. — Began  my  regular  Biblical  devotions  this  day — 
I  trust  with  good  to  my  soul.  The  result  so  far  has  been  a 
feeling  of  comfort  and  satisfaction.  Prosper  this  enterprise. 
Almighty  Father  ;  and  bless  it  to  my  eternal  welfare." 


368  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1841. 

The  Biblical  exercises  alluded  to,  constitute  what  have  been 
published  since  his  death  under  the  names  of  *'  Horse  Biblicae 
Qnotidianae,"  and  "Horse  Biblicae  Sabbaticae."  Of  the  former 
he  has  himself  said  that  they  ''consisted  of  his  first  and  read- 
iest thoughts  clothed  in  the  first  and  readiest  words,  which 
occurred  to  him,"  and  Dr.  Hanna  remarks  that  the  latter 
might  "  be  described  as  the  Sabbath  diary  of  the  last  six  years 
of  Dr.  Chalmers's  life."  They  were  continued  with  unbroken 
regularity  to  the  day  of  his  death. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

In  January,  1842,  another  stage  was  reached  in  the  Non- 
intrusion controversy,  in  a  series  of  resolutions  offered  before 
the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,  by  Dr.  Gordon,  affirming  ''  the 
propriety  of  seeking  the  abohtion  of  the  Law  of  Patronage,  as 
especially  in  the  construction  now  attempted  to  be  put  upon  it, 
involving  a  violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  church  and 
kingdom,  secured  at  the  Revolution,  and  unalterably  ratified 
by  the  Act  of  Security  and  Treaty  of  Union."  Dr.  Chalmers 
had  hitherto  strongly  resisted  the  anti-patronage  movement, 
but  now,  hopeless  of  harmonizing  the  conflicting  elements, 
contributed  his  cordial  support  to  the  resolutions. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  dated  February  9th,  he 
thus  expresses  his  opinion  of  the  ground  then  occupied  by 
the  church  : 

1st.  The  church  may  acquiesce  in,  she  never  will  approve 
of,  a  mere  liberum  arhitrium;  and  it  will  have  little  or  no  effect 
in  laying  an  arrest  on  the  anti-patronage  movement. 

*'  2d.  The  church,  in  my  opinion,  would  accept  of  your 
grace's  bill,  and  that  not  as  a  step  to  ulterior  changes,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  working  it  honestly  and  faithfully,  with  the 
view  to  an  efficient  ministration  of  the  gospel  in  Scotland. 
Many  of  us,  and  myself  in  particular,  do  not  think  that  it 
comes  up  to  the  heau  ideal  of  a  best  possible  constitution  for 
the  appointment  of  clergymen.  But  we  shall  be  content  to 
wait  for  this  being  realized  by  a  gradual  and  pacific  march  of 
improvement,  and  have  no  sympathy  with  those  who  talk  of 
installments,  and  would  keep  the  church  and  the  country  in  a 
state  of  incessant  turmoil  and  agitation. 

"  But,  3d,  and  most  important  of  all,  the  church,  I  fondly 
hope  and  pray,   will  never  consent  to  be  cast  down  by  any 

(369j 


370  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1842. 

power  on  earth  beneath  the  liberum  arbitrium.  If  the  right  of 
the  patron,  on  the  one  hand,  is  to  carry  it  over  the  judgment 
of  the  ecclesiastical  courts  that  it  is  not  for  the  christian  good 
of  the  families  in  a  parish  that  his  presentee,  unacceptable 
to  them,  shall  be  admitted  their  minister  ;  the  church,  on  the 
other  hand,  never  will  submit  to  the  mandate  of  any  court 
under  the  sun  calling  on  them  to  ordain  and  admit  that  man. 
On  this  head  I  trust  that  our  majority  will  present  an  unbro- 
ken phalanx  of  resistance  to  the  violence  that  would  offer  such 
an  invasion  upon  our  liberties ;  and  should  the  further  vio- 
lence be  perpetrated  of  driving  us,  because  of  this,  from  our  own 
rightful  patrimony,  we  shall  in  hundreds,  I  trust,  quit  the  en- 
dowments of  a  church  thus  Erastianized,  and,  under  God,  cast 
the  support  of  our  righteous  cause  on  the  people  of  Scotland." 
In  the  meanwhile  another  instance  had  occurred  of  Presby- 
terial  insubordination  sustained  by  the  Court  of  Session,  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Middleton,  for  some  time  assistant  to  the  minister  of 
Culsalmond,  ''  obtained  at  last  a  presentation  to  that  parish. 
The  Presbytery  of  Garioch  met  on  the  28th  October,  1841,  to 
moderate  in  the  call.  A  majority  of  the  communicants  on  the 
roll  dissented  from  the  appointment.  According  to  the  recent 
regulations  of  the  church,  the  Presbytery  was  not  bound  to 
give  immediate  effect  to  that  dissent  by  rejecting  the  presentee, 
but  was  required  only  to  stay  procedure,  and  report  to  the 
next  General  Assembly.  The  Presbytery  resolved,  however, 
to  proceed  immediately  to  the  ordination.  A  minority  of  the 
court  appealed  to  the  superior  judicatories,  but  this  appeal  was 
set  aside.  The  people  then  came  forward  with  special  objec- 
tions to  the  presentee,  but  the  Presbytery  refused  to  consider 
them.  The  parishioners  and  the  minority  in  the  Presbytery 
protested  separately  against  this  resolution,  and  appealed  to  the 
Synod.  There  is  a  standing  order  of  the  church  that  no  Pres- 
bytery shall  ordain  in  face  of  an  appeal.  Trampling  upon  this 
order,  and  setting  all  the  common  forms  of  procedure  at  defi- 
ance, the  Presbytery  resolved  to  meet  again  at  Culsalmond  on 
the  11th  November,  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  settle- 
ment.    It  was  another  bleak,  wintry,  snowy  day  such  as  that 


^T.    61.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  371 

which  occurred  about  a  year  before  in  the  neighboring  parish 
of  Marnoch,  and  another  such  crowd  assembled.  But  the  same 
wise  counsels  did  not  prevail,  nor  was  the  same  spirit  mani- 
fested by  the  people.  The  rapid  and  imperious  movement  of 
the  Presbytery  had  created  the  feeling  that  they  were  stealing 
a  march  upon  the  people,  and  trying  to  do  the  deed  before 
legal  check  of  any  kind  could  be  imposed.  Rashly  and  most 
unwisely  the  people  took  the  check  into  their  own  hands. 
When  the  doors  were  opened,  a  motley  crowd,  principally  com- 
posed of  strangers  from  a  distance,  rushed  in,  and  took  such 
complete  possession  of  the  building,  that  it  was  with  extreme 
difficulty,  and  by  the  help  only  of  the  officers  of  justice,  that 
the  Presbytery  could  find  their  way  into  the  church.  It  was 
to  no  purpose  that  they  found  an  entrance  ;  for  no  sooner  was 
the  attempt  made  to  commence  the  proper  business  of  the 
court,  than  loud  discordant  clamors,  rising  from  all  quarters, 
drowned  their  voices,  and  effectuall)^  prevente'd  all  further 
progress.  They  waited  for  an  hour  or  more  —  again  and 
again  making  the  effort  to  proceed,  but  making  it  in  vain. 
They  retired  at  last  to  the  manse,  and  there,  in  a  pri- 
vate room,  and  within  locked  doors,  this  unhappy  ordina- 
tion was  consummated.  The  parishioners  complained  to 
the  Commission  of  the  arbitrary  and  irregular  conduct  of  the 
Presbytery,  and  that  court,  which  met  on  the  17th  November, 
cited  the  parties  complained  of  to  appear  before  the  ensuing 
General  Assembly,  and  in  the  meantime,  until  the  protests  and 
appeals  which  had  been  made  were  judicially  disposed  of,  pro- 
hibited Mr.  Middleton  from  officiating  in  the  parish  of  Culsalm- 
ond,  and  instructed  the  minority  of  the  Presbytery  of  Garioch 
to  provide  for  the  administration  of  sacred  ordinances  in  that 
parish.  The  sentence  of  the  Commission  was  purely  and  ex- 
clusively spiritual :  it  touched  no  civil  right — it  carried  Avith  it 
no  civil  consequence.  It  had  grounds  to  rest  on  disconnected 
with  any  question  about  the  legality  of  the  Veto  Law.  Mr. 
Middleton,  however,  and  the  majority  of  the  Presbytery,  ap- 
plied to  the  Court  of  Session  to  suspend  it,  and  to  prohibit  its 
intimation   and  execution.     Lord   Ivory,   to   whom,   as   Lord 


372  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1842. 

Ordinary,  their  petition  was  in  the  first  instance  directed,  refused 
to  grant  its  prayer,  on  the  grounds  '  that  there  was  no  question 
now  before  the  court  as  to  the  legahty  of  the  Veto  Law ;  that 
the  civil  rights,  whether  of  the  patron  or  presentee,  would 
stand  perfectly  unscathed,  notwithstanding  all  that  had  yet 
been  done  by  the  Commission  :  and  that  the  only  question 
here  was,  shall  this  court  interfere  with  the  proceedings  of  a 
proper  church  Court,  when  that  court,  acting  within  its  own 
province,  is  dealing  with  a  proper  ecclesiastical  cause,  and  this 
too,  while  that  cause  is  still  actually  depending  before  them  ?' 
The  case  went  before  the  first  division  of  the  court,  and  the 
majority  of  the  Judges  reversed  the  decision  of  the  Lord  Or- 
dinary. On  the  10th  March,  1842,  the  Suspension  and  Inter- 
dict were  granted  as  craved.  In  delivering  his  opinion,  the 
Lord  President  declared  that  it  was  quite  sufficient  to  bring 
this  matter  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court — '  that  a  gross 
stigma  had  been  fixed  on  Mr.  Middleton's  sacred  character  as 
a  minister  of  the  gospel,'  by  his  being  forbidden  for  a  time  to 
officiate  ;  and  that  the  majority  of  the  Presbytery  had  been 
*  degraded  from  their  status  and  functions  as  established  min- 
isters, and  their  general  usefulness  and  respectability  affected  ' 
by  their  being  overlooked,  and  the  minority  appointed  to  sup- 
ply all  the  ministerial  services  which  the  parish  of  Culsalmond 
required.  At  the  beginning  of  this  controversy,  it  was  alleged 
in  defense  of  the  Court  of  Session,  that  it  had  interfered  only 
when  such  civil  rights  as  are  properly  the  subjects  of  civil 
action  were  immediately  involved.  As  broader  and  deeper 
invasions  of  the  church's  territory  were  made,  the  defense  was 
widened  by  its  being  affirmed  that  the  Civil  Court  was  war- 
ranted to  interfere  in  all  cases  where  civil  rights  were  directly 
or  indirectly  affected.  But  now  the  Court  of  Session,  speaking 
through  its  President,  had  given  it  broadly  to  be  understood, 
that  if  any  one  conceived  that  by  the  sentence  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical court,  any  injury  had  been  done  to  his  reputation,  or  re- 
spectability, or  usefulness,  that  was  in  itself  enough  to  justify 
the  court  in  reviewing,  and  if  it  saw  reason,  in  reversing  the 
sentence  of  which  he  complained.     No  act  of  discipline  could 


^T.    62.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  373 

the  church  perform  ;  no  spiritual  censure  or  sentence  of  con- 
demnation could  she  pronounce,  which,  upon  this  ground,  did 
not  lie  open  to  revisal  or  reversal  by  the  Court  of  Session.  By 
assuming  this  prerogative,  that  court  constituted  itself  as  the 
court  of  last  appeal  in  all  such  cases  ;  and  the  church  lay 
stripped  of  any  supreme  or  exclusive  jurisdiction. 

"  A  broad  and  patent  way  to  the  Court  of  Session  had  been 
opened,  and  where  Presbyteries  had  gone  before  them,  indi- 
vidual ministers  could  find  no  difficulty  of  approach.  The 
minister  of  Stranraer  had  been  accused  of  various  acts  of 
fraud,  and  his  Presbytery  were  proceeding  in  his  trial,  when 
he  applied  to  the  Civil  Court  *  to  suspend  the  whole  proceed- 
ings of  the  Presbytery  ;'  and  '  further  to  prohibit,  interdict, 
and  discharge  the  said  Presbytery  from  taking  cognizance  of 
the  pretended  libel.'  The  minister  of  Cambusnethan  had  been 
found  guilty  of  four  separate  acts  of  theft,  and  the  Presbytery 
were  about  to  depose  him,  when  he  raised  an  action  of  reduc- 
tion in  the  Court  of  Session,  and  obtained  an  interdict  against 
their  proceeding.  Mr.  Clark,  the  presentee  to  Lethendy,  who 
was  living  in  the  manse  of  which  he  had  taken  possession,  was 
accused  of  repeated  acts  of  drunkenness,  and  the  Presbytery  of 
Dunkeld  had  entered  upon  the  investigation  of  these  charges, 
with  a  view  to  deprive  him  of  his  license.  But  he  too  had  re- 
course to  the  great  Protector,  and  an  interdict  ao-ainst  the 
Presbytery  had  been  issued." 

The  time  had  fully  come  for  a  final  declaration  of  principle 
and  purpose,  and  corresponding  firmness  of  action.  The  next 
Assembly  was  looked  forward  to  as  the  fitting  scene  of  such 
declaration,  if  only  a  suitable  form  could  be  adopted.  On  this 
point  Dr.  Chalmers  declared  it  to  be  his  opinion  that  the 
church  should  put  forth  a  claim  of  rights,  with  a  statement  of 
what  they  held  to  be  their  duty,  and  their  determination  to 
adhere  to  it,  and  that  their  true  ground  was  that  of  spiritual  inde- 
pendence, and  not  of  non-intrusion  alone.  The  letter  in  which 
this  opinion  was  advanced  and  sustained  was  circulated  among 
the  leading  friends  of  the  church  in  Edinburgh,  and  met  with 
their  warmest  approbation,  and  when  Mr.  Dunlop,   to  whom 


374  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1842. 

that  work  was  intrusted,  drew  up  the  claim  of  rights,  he  ad- 
hered as  closely  as  possible  to  the  principle  advocated  in  Dr. 
Chalmers's  letter. 

The  Assembly  of  1842  was  one  of  great  interest  to  the  ene- 
mies as  well  as  the  friends  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Upon 
making  up  the  roll  of  members  it  appeared  *that  the  deposed 
ministers  of  Strathbogie  had  also  sent  their  representative, 
and  when  Mr.  Dunlop  moved  that  their  return  be  disregarded, 
he  was  warmly  opposed  by  Dr.  Cook,  who  strenuously  asserted 
that  these  seven  ministers  should  not  be  held  as  deposed.  Dr. 
Chalmers,  who  seldom  took  part  in  the  minor  business  of  the 
Assembly,  could  not  keep  silence  on  hearing  this  extraordinary 
proposition.  "  Moderator,"  he  said,  **  this  is  the  first  time 
in  my  life  that  I  ever  heard  it  asserted,  that  the  dissent  of  a 
minority  superseded  the  sentence  of  a  court  passed  by  an  over- 
whelming majority.  The  proposition  is  in  substance,  that  those 
deposed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1841,  shall,  nevertheless, 
be  allowed  to  sit  as  members  in  the  General  Assembly  of  1842. 
Why,  Sir,  the  proposition  is  so  very  monstrous,  and  so  fully 
comes  in  conflict — so  palpably  and  immediately  comes  in  con- 
flict— with  a  first  principle,  that  I  cannot  hold  it  to  be  a  case 
for  argument  at  all.  But  that  such  a  proposition  should  be 
made,  that  such  a  proposition  should  ever  be  thought  of,  is  a 
very  instructive  fact.  It  discovers  to  what  a  fearful  extent  of 
anarchy  and  disorder  the  enemy  within — whether  by  the  insti- 
gation and  encouragement  of  the  enemy  without,  I  cannot  say 
— are  resolved  to  plunge  the  Church  of  Scotland  ;  how  they 
are  resolved  to  strip  her  of  the  last  vestige  of  that  authority 
which  belongs  to  every  distinct  body,  governed  by  distinct 
office-bearers.  Never,  Sir,  would  I  saj^  has  the  character  of 
the  outrage  inflicted  upon  the  Church  come  out  in  such  bold 
relief  as  at  the  present  moment,  when  we  have  just  met  under 
the  countenance  of  Her  Majesty  ;  when  we  have  been  ushered 
to  our  places  with  the  form  and  circumstance  of  a  great  national 
Institute  ;  and  when  we  are  now  holding  our  deliberations  in 
the  presence  and  hearing  of  Royalty,  represented  by  one  of  the 
most  respected  of  our  noblemen.     We  are  now  congregated  in 


iET.  62.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  375 

this  our  first  meeting  of  the  present  Assembly,  by  the  authority 
and  appointment  of  the  last  General  Assembly.  And,  Sir, 
in  these  circumstances,  what  is  the  first  thing  we  are  called 
upon  to  do  ?  Why,  to  pluck  from  our  archives  the  most  solemn 
deed  of  that  most  solemn  convocation,  and  to  trample  it  down 
under  our  feet  as  a  thing  of  insignificance  or  a  thing  of  naught. 
It  is  under  the  authority  of  last  General  Assembly  that 
we  now  hold  our  places,  and  are  now  met  as  a  deliberative 
body  ;  and  I  must  say  that  if  there  is  anything  more  than 
another  which  could  unsettle  all  men's  notions  of  order  and 
authority,  it  would  be  the  success  of  the  present  proposition.  It 
would  truly  be  an  egregious  travesty,  it  would  make  a  farce  of 
the  proceedings  of  our  General  Assembly,  a  complete  laughing- 
stock of  our  Church,  were  there  left  her  no  authority  to  en- 
force obedience  from  her  own  sons.  It  would  present  a  strange 
contrast  between  the  impotence  of  our  doings,  and  the  pageantry 
of  our  forms — between  the  absolute  nothingness  of  the  Assem- 
bly, and  the  mighty  notes  of  preparation — the  imposing  caval- 
cade which  accompanied  us — the  pealing  of  the  clarionets  with 
which  we  were  conducted  into  the  House  on  the  present  occa- 
sion. I  must  say,  there  is  not  a  heart  that  beats  with  more 
gratification,  or  feels  more  elevation,  than  my  own,  at  the  coun- 
tenance given  to  our  venerable  Church  at  present  by  the  high 
and  honorable  of  the  land  ;  but  ours  will  be  the  fault,  if,  untrue 
to  ourselves,  if  untrue  to  our  privileges,  we  shall  allow  our 
Church  to  become  a  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal — a 
hissing  and  an  astonishment  to  all  passers-by." 

Mr.  Dunlop's  motion  was  carried  by  a  large  majority.  The  \ 
interdict  served  upon  the  recognized  representatives  from 
Strathbogie,  as  well  as  other  interdicts,  by  which  the  Court  of 
Sessions  attempted  to  interrupt  or  embarrass  the  proceedings 
of  the  Assembly,  were  treated  with  silent  and  dignified  disre- 
gard. The  ministers  of  Cambusnethan  and  Stranraer  were  de- 
posed from  the  sacred  office,  Mr.  Clark  was  deprived  of  his 
license.  The  settlement  of  Mr.  Middleton,  as  minister  of  Cul- 
salmond  was  rescinded,  and  those  ministers,  who  held  com- 
munion with  the  deposed  clergymen  of  Strathbogie  were  sus- 


376  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1842. 

pended  from  the  exercise  of  their  judicial  functions  as  mem- 
bers of  the  church  courts  till  the  March  commission  of  the 
following  year.  At  the  same  time,  the  reports  of  progress 
made  within  the  past  year  in  the  various  fields  of  christian 
enterprise  were  most  encouraging.  The  gross  revenue  of  the 
church's  schemes  for  ten  months  in  1841,  exceeded  by  £8,000 
that  for  the  whole  preceding  year  ;  and  looking  back  to  tlie 
time  when  the  evangelical  interest  became  predominant,  not 
only  had  three  additional  schemes  of  christian  usefulness  been 
added  to  the  two  then  existing,  but  the  whole  sum  raised  for 
religious  purposes  in  1842  was  six  times  greater  than  that 
raised  in  1834,  each  intervening  5^ear  witnessing  a  growing  in- 
crease. Coupling  this  with  the  greater  frequency  of  meetings 
for  prayer  over  the  country,  and  the  remarkable  revivals  in 
Kilsyth,  Blairgowrie  and  Dundee,  we  perceive  the  sources  of 
that  activity  in  reformation  which  had  ruled  in  the  late  Assem- 
blies, to  have  been  the  spirit  of  piety  reacting  from  the  heart 
of  the  people. 

J'he  principal  discussions  of  this  Assembly,  "  and  the  only 
ones  in  which  Dr.  Chalmers  took  a  part,  were  those  relative  to 
patronage,  and  to  the  Church's  claim  of  Right.  On  Monday 
the  23d  May,  Dr.  Cunningham  moved  a  resolution  to  the 
effect  that  as  both  in  itself  a  grievance,  and  as  the  main  cause 
of  the  difficulties,  in  which  the  church  had  been  involved, 
patronage  ought  to  be  abolished.  This  motion,  which  was 
supported  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  216 
to  147.  For  more  than  half  a  century  after  the  restoration  of 
patronage  by  the  Act  1712,  the  General  Assembly  had  an- 
nually renewed  her  protest  against  this  grievance,  and  had 
given  it  as  an  instruction  to  the  Commission,  to  take  all  suita- 
ble opportunities  for  effecting  its  removal ;  and  now  once  more, 
after  the  lapse  of  another  half  century,  and  on  the  last  opportunity 
given  for  doing  so,  the  ancient  testimony  against  the  yoke  of 
patronage  was  renewed.  On  Tuesday  the  24th  Dr.  Chalmers 
moved  the  adoption  of  the  Claim  of  Right."  This  document 
presented  a  comprehensive,  but  condensed  "  statement  of  the 
great  principles  which  the  Church  asserted — of  the  scriptural, 


^T.    62.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  377 

constitutional,  and  legal  grounds,  on  which  these  principles 
rested — of  the  violence  done  them  by  the  Civil  Court — of  the 
wrongs  which  the  church  had  consequently  sustained,  and  the 
claim  for  protection  which  she  put  forth.  It  closed  with  the 
solemn  declaration  that,  subject  to  such  civil  coercion  as  was 
now  attempted  the  church  would  not  and  could  not  carry  on 
its  government ;  and  that,  at  the  hazard  of  losing  all  the  secular 
benefits  conferred  by  the  State,  and  all  the  public  benefits  of  an 
establishment,  it  would  resist  that  coercion,  and  maintain  to 
the  last  the  inalienable  liberties  of  a  church  of  Christ."  This 
motion  was  also  carried  by  a  large  majority  ;  and  the  Lord  High 
Commissioner  was  requested  to  transmit  the  document  "  to 
Her  Majesty,  as  the  head  of  the  State. — Her  principles  thus 
faithfully  declared,  her  final  purpose  thus  solemnly  announced 
— the  Church  committed  her  ways  to  God,  and  waited  the 
evolutions  of  His  will." 

On  the  11th  of  June  following,  when  Mr.  Campbell  of 
Monzie  was  prepared  to  move  the  second  reading  of  his  bill, 
which  was  expected  to  effect  the  desired  harmony,  it  was 
found  that,  as  many  livings  in  the  Scottish  Church  were  in  the 
gift  of  the  Crown,  no  change  could  be  made  in  the  state  of 
patronage  without  the  royal  consent.  This  obstacle  it  was  un- 
derstood, the  Premier  possessed  the  privilege  of  removing  ; 
but  he  refused  to  exercise  it,  and  the  Bill  was  accordingly  with- 
drawn. "  A  few  days  afterward,  Sir  Robert  Peel  informed 
the  House  *  that  after  a  full  consideration  of  the  subject,  Her 
Majesty's  government  had  abandoned  all  hope  of  settling  the 
question  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  or  of  effecting  any  good  by 
introducing  a  measure  relative  to  it.'  "  The  government  by 
thus  relinquishing  all  attempts  at  legislation,  left  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  civil  courts  to  take  their  course.  "  Lord  Kinnoul 
and  Mr.  Young  had  raised  a  second  action  against  the  Presby- 
tery of  Auchterarder,  to  recover  damages,  laid  at  £16,000,  by 
way  of  compensation  for  the  injury  sustained  by  patron  and 
presentee  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Young's  rejection.  The  Court 
of  Session  found  this  action  relevant,  and  on  the  9th  August, 
1842,  the  House  of  Lords,  sitting  as  a  Court  of  Appeal,  con- 
32 


378  LIFE   OF    DE.    CHALMERS.  1842- 

firmed  this  judgment,  and  declared  that  damages  were  recover- 
able by  the  pursuers.  The  former  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Civil  Court  in  the  Auchterarder  case  had  gone  no  further  than 
to  declare  that  in  setting  the  presentee  aside  on  the  ground  of 
the  popular  dissent,  the  Presbytery  had  acted  illegally.  Be- 
lieving that  the  only  legitimate  effect  of  this  decision  would  be 
to  bring  into  operation  the  remedy  specially  provided  by  Stat- 
ute for  such  a  case,  namely  the  withholding  the  fruits  of  the 
benefice,  the  church  had  relinquished  all  claim  to  them.  By 
this  second  decision,  however,  of  the  House  of  Lords,  it  was 
distinctly  declared  that  the  obligation  to  'receive  and  admit,' 
which  still  lay  upon  the  Presbytery,  was  a  civil  obligation,  the 
violation  of  which  was  to  be  regarded  and  punished  as  a  civil 
offense,  as  a  crime  committed  against  the  common  law  of  the 
country.  The  four  English  Judges,  Lord  Lyndhurst,  Lord 
Cottenham,  Lord  Brougham,  and  Lord  Campbell,  were  quite 
unanimous.  It  is  true  that  in  the  opinions  which  they  deliver- 
ed, not  one  of  them  ever  alluded  to  one  of  the  Statutes  referred 
to  by  the  Church  of  ScotlaiAl  as  ratifying  her  exclusive  spirit- 
ual jurisdiction,  and  shielding  it  from  invasion.  They  regarded 
the  case  as  exhibiting  no  peculiarity,  presenting  no  difficulty, 
and  finding  its  perfect  parallel  in  that  of  any  common  civil  cor- 
poration violating  one  of  the  statutes  upon  which  it  was  founded. 
In  such  an  instance,  if  any  individual  could  plead  that  by  the 
act  of  the  corporation,  his  patrimonial  interests  had  been  in- 
jured, an  action  for  damages  was  a  fair  and  legal  mode  of  ob- 
taining redress.  It  was  the  same,  in  the  judgment  of  these 
noble  Lords,  with  the  Church  of  Scotland.  By  putting  the 
church  in  such  a  category,  and  by  subjecting  her  to  such  legal 
treatment,  her  title  to  any  peculiar  exclusive  spiritual  authority 
and  jurisdiction  was  ignored,  was  absolutely  and  entirely  re- 
pudiated. It  had  been  clear  enough  from  the  whole  current  of 
their  recent  judgments,  that  the  Court  of  Session  conceived 
itself  to  be  entitled  to  review,  and  if  it  saw  reason,  to  reverse 
any  proceedings  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  by  which  a  civil 
injury  of  any  kind  had  been  inflicted.  Now,  however,  and  for 
the  first  time,  the  determination  of  the  Supreme  Civil  Court 


^T.  62.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  379 

was  given  forth,  that  the  judgments  of  the  Court  of  Session 
imposed  on  the  church  an  obligation  to  obedience,  which  she 
could  not  disregard  without  subjecting  herself  to  civil  pains  and 
penalties.  This  amounted  not  simply  to  a  change,  but  to  the 
entire  overthrow  and  reversal  of  the  constitution  of  the  Scottish 
Establishment,  so  far  as  that  constitution  had  guaranteed  to  the 
church  a  sphere  of  action  within  which  no  secular  power  could 
control  or  coerce.  The  first  Auchterarder  decision  put  a  new 
interpretation  on  the  Law  of  Patronage,  from  the  injurious  re- 
sults of  which  the  church  might  have  been  protected  by  a 
change  effected  by  the  Legislature  in  that  single  law.  This 
second  decision  gave  a  new  interpretation  of  the  nature  and 
conditions  of  that  relationship  in  which  the  church  stood  to  the 
Civil  Courts,  and  through  them  to  the  State  itself,  whose  or- 
gans these  Courts  were.  These  conditions  were  such  that  the 
church  could  not  fulfill  them  consistently  with  her  princi- 
ples. A  mere  Non-intrusion  measure  would  no  longer  meet 
the  difficulties  of  her  position.  Yet  in  that  position,  with- 
out some  relief,  it  seemed  impossible  for  her  any  longer  to 
remain." 

Dr.  Chalmers  spent  the  months  of  July  and  August  in  Ire- 
land, at  Rosstrevor,  a  lovely  village  a  few  miles  from  Newry, 
employed  in  the  work  of  completing  his  lectures  on  Romans. 
Upon  hearing  of  these  events,  he  seems  to  have  felt  that  sepa- 
ration from  the  Establishment  was  inevitable  ;  and  that  the 
only  remaining  question  was  how  that  step  could  most  effectively 
be  taken.  At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Hanna,  he  proposed  the 
calling  of  a  general  convocation  of  the  evangelical  clergy  to 
take  that  matter  into  consideration,  and  having  written  to  sev- 
eral of  the  oldest  and  most  influential  ministers  in  the  church, 
and  received  their  approbation  of  the  method,  a  circular  was 
drawn  up,  signed  by  thirty-two  of  them  from  various  quarters, 
and  sent  to  all  the  evangelical  clergy  throughout  the  land,  in- 
viting them  to  meet  at  Edinburgh  on  the  17th  of  November. 
And  in  view  of  that  meeting,  a  proposal  of  united  prayer 
drawn  up  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Cheyne  of  Dundee,  was  exten- 
sively published. 


380  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1S42. 

The  convocation  was  opened  in  St.  George's  Church  on  the 
forenoon  of  Thursday  the  17tli  November,  by  devotional  ser- 
vices conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Macdonald  of  Ferintosh,  and 
a  discourse  by  Dr.  Chalmers  ;  and  "  assembled  for  business  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  in  a  small  chapel  in  an  obscure  part 
of  the  old  town.  About  450  ministers  were  present — a  larger 
number  than  had  ever  met  in  council  in  Scotland,  many  of  them 
from  the  remotest  parts  of  the  country.  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
invited  to  take  the  chair.  In  doing  so,  he  briefly  stated  that 
the  Convocation  was  met  not  for  debate,  but  for  deliberation. 
Its  great  object  was  to  ascertain  the  mind  and  purpose  of  the 
church  in  the  present  perilous  emergency,  and  he  noticed  this 
at  the  outset  to  encourage  all  to  come  forward  with  their 
sentiments.  To  secure  this  object,  the  public  were  carefully 
excluded  from  this  and  all  the  other  after  conferences.  The 
proposal  that  two  eminent  lawyers,  elders  of  the  church,  whose 
advice,  it  was  imagined,  might  occasionally  be  serviceable, 
should  be  admitted,  was  met  with  an  immediate  and  general 
negative.  It  was  arranged  that  the  ordinary  formalities  of  de- 
bate should  be  dispensed  with — that  the  discussion  of  each 
topic  should  be  conducted,  as  much  as  possible  in  a  colloquial 
form — that  after  the  more  aged  and  eminent  ministers  had 
stated  their  opinions,  the  members  sliould  be  invited.  Synod  by 
Synod,  to  express  their  views  ;  and  that  no  conclusion  should 
be  come  to,  no  practical  measure  resolved  upon,  till  as  full  an 
expression  and  interchange  of  opinion  as  possible  had  been 
elicited.  It  was  arranged,  also,  that  three  times,  at  least,  each 
day,  the  Convocation  should  engage  in  devotional  exercises, 
accompanied  by  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  praise,  and  that 
through  all  the  ordinary  business  prayer  should  be  interspersed. 
After  some  preliminary  consultation,  the  attention  of  the  Con- 
vocation was  concentrated  upon  the  two  following  topics  : — 
IsL  The  exact  bearing  and  effect  of  the  late  decisions  of  the 
Civil  Courts,  and  especially  of  the  recent  Auchterarder  judg- 
ment, involving  a  consideration  of  what  would  be  required  in 
order  to  effect  any  right  adjustment  of  the  questions  now  at 
issue  between  the  church  and  the  civil  authorities  ;  2d.  The 


^T.   62.  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  381 

duty  and  prospects  of  the  church  in  the  event  of  no  adequate 
remedy  being  provided." 

In  course  of  discussion,  a  series  of  resolutions  were  offered 
by  Dr.  Candhsh,  in  which,  after  reciting  and  characterizing 
some  of  the  late  decisions,  it  was  declared — "  That  as  the 
principle  involved  in  these  decisions,  and  particularly  in  the 
recent  Auchterarder  judgment,  is  that  of  the  supremacy  of  the 
Civil  Courts  over  those  of  the  Established  Church  in  the  exer- 
cise of  their  spiritual  functions,  so  the  members  of  the  Convo- 
cation declare,  that  no  measure  can  in  conscience  be  submitted 
to,  which  does  not  effectually  protect  the  church  against  the 
exercise  of  such  jurisdiction  of  the  Civil  Courts  in  time  to  come, 
and,  in  particular,  fully  prevent  all  future  encroachments  of  the 
nature  specified  in  the  preceding  resolutions."  Only  seven  in 
the  convocation  refused  to  entirely  concur  in  these  resolutions. 
The  next  subject  of  consultation  was  what  their  duty  should 
be  in  the  event  of  no  adequate  relief  being  granted.  On  this 
head  Dr.  Chalmers  was  already  prepared  to  submit  a  plan  for 
the  support  of  all  the  outgoing  ministers.  He  asked  and  re- 
ceived permission  to  lay  this  plan  before  the  Convocation.  It 
was  no  rude  outline,  but  the  complete  and  finished  system 
which  was  afterward  adopted  without  alteration,  and  carried 
out  with  such  success  by  the  Free  Church.  By  the  Convoca- 
tion, hiOwever,  it  was  listened  to  with  evident  incredulity,  as  the 
Utopian  scheme  of  a  sanguine  man. 

A  second  series  of  resolutions  were  proposed  by  Dr.  Patrick 
Macfarlan,  concluding  with  the  solemn  declaration,  that  **  '  in 
dependence  upon  the  grace  of  God,  it  was  the  determination 
of  the  brethren  now  assembled,  if  no  measure  such  as  they 
have  declared  to  be  indispensable  be  granted,  to  tender  the 
resignation  of  their  civil  advantages,  which  they  can  no  longer 
hold  in  consistency  with  the  free  and  full  exercise  of  their  spir- 
itual functions,  and  to  cast  themselves  on  such  provision  as  God 
in  his  providence  may  afford  ;  maintaining  still  uncompromised 
the  principle  of  a  right  scriptural  connection  between  the  church 
and  the  State,  and  solemnly  entering  their  protest  against  the 
judgments  of  which  they  complain,  as  in  their  decided  opin- 


382  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1842. 

ion  altogether  contrary  to  what  has  ever  hitherto  been  under- 
stood to  be  the  law  and  constitution  of  this  country.'  On  Tues- 
day night,  after  prayer  by  Dr.  McDonald,  the  roll  was  called, 
and  270  voted  that  these  resolutions  should  be  adopted.  It 
was  felt  by  all  to  be  a  vote  not  lightly  to  be  given,  and  for  a 
day  or  two  many  held  back  their  names. 

**  On  Wednesday  forenoon.  Dr.  Chalmers  asked  how  many 
names  were  now  appended  to  the  resolutions  of  the  preceding 
evening.  When  told  that  already  there  were  above  300  he 
broke  forth  with  the  exclamation — *  Then  we  are  more  than 
Gideon's  army — a  most  hopeful  omen.'  As  he  proceeded  to 
picture  forth  all  the  oppositions  which  this  little  army  might 
encounter — all  the  victories  it  might  win,  the  inward  fire  kin- 
dled into  a  perfect  ecstasy  of  excitement.  He  stepped  into  the 
center  of  the  group,  his  whole  frame  quivering  with  emotion, 
and  looking  round  upon  that  band  of  faithful  men,  upon  whose 
constancy  in  the  hour  of  trial  he  felt  now  that  he  could  count, 
he  exclaimed — '  For  throwing  up  our  livings — for  casting  our- 
selves with  such  unequal  odds  into  so  great  a  conflict,  men 
may  call  us  enthusiasts  ;  but  enthusiasm  is  a  noble  virtue 
rarely  to  be  found  in  calm  and  unruffled  times  of  prosperity  : 
it  flourishes  in  adversity — it  kindles  in  the  hour  of  danger. 
Persecution  but  serves  to  quicken  the  energy  of  its  purposes. 
It  swells  in  proud  integrity,  and,  great  in  the  purity  of  its 
cause,  it  can  scatter  defiance  amid  a  host  of  enemies.'  It  was 
the  spirit  of  chivalry  baptized  with  the  fire  from  Heaven." 

"The  two  sets  of  resolutions  which  had  been  adopted  hav- 
ing been  embodied  in  a  memorial  addressed  to  Sir  Robert 
Peel  and  the  other  members  of  Her  Majesty's  government,  the 
Convocation,"  whose  sittings  had  been  eminently  marked  by 
the  spirit  of  prayer  and  brotherly  love,  broke  up  on  Thursday, 
'  the  24th  November. 

The  appeal  to  government  resulted,  as  all  its  predecessors 
had,  in  nothing  save  a  further  attempt  to  encourage,  as  far  as 
a  full  declaration  of  non-interference  could  encourage,  the 
Court  of  Session  in  its  course  of  domination.  And  that  court 
seems    to  have   fully  understood  and  availed   itself  of   that 


Ml   62.  LIFE    OF   DK,    CHALMERS.  383 

encouragement.  The  church  had  lately  received  into  her  bosom 
"  a  body  of  dissenters  bearing  the  name  of  the  Associate 
Synod.  The  clergymen  of  this  Synod  were  admitted  as  mem- 
bers of  the  respective  Presbyteries  within  whose  bounds  their 
charges  were  situated,  and  these  Presbyteries  were  proceeding 
to  attach  a  territorial  district  to  their  churches.  The  Presby- 
tery of  Irvine  had  in  this  way  received  the  Rev.  Dr.  Clelland, 
minister  at  Stewarton,  into  their  court,  and  were  engaged  in 
allocating  to  him  a  special  district  for  the  purpose  of  pastoral 
superintendence  and  spiritual  discipline,  when  an  interdict  was 
served  upon  them  prohibiting  them  from  receiving  Mr.  Clelland 
as  a  member  of  Presbytery,  and  from  establishing  an  additional 
pastoral  charge  in  the  parish.  The  church,  for  a  hundred  years 
and  more,  had  been  admitting  additional  ministers  into  her 
courts,  and  creating  new  parishes  quoad  spiritualia,  and  the  valid- 
ity of  her  acts  had  been  recognized  by  decisions  of  the  Civil 
Court.  Her  title  was  now  for  the  first  time  challenged,  upon  the 
ground  that,  as  a  State -crea,ted  institution,  she  could  have  no  au- 
thority and  exercise  no  privilege  which  had  not  been  expressly 
granted  to  her  by  statute.  This  case  was  so  novel  and  important 
that  it  was  brought  before  all  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Session. 
Their  decision',  delivered  on  the  20th  January,  1843,  was  to  the 
effect,  that  the  church  had  acted  illegally  in  receiving  such 
ministers  as  Mr.  Clelland,  and  in  placing  any  part  of  an  origi- 
nal parish  under  their  spiritual  care.  This  judgment  was  one 
of  wide  compass,  applying,  as  it  did,  not  only  to  the  members 
of  the  Associate  Synod,  but  to  all  the  unendowed  clergymen 
recently  admitted  into  the  church.  Its  effect,  if  submitted  to, 
would  have  been  to  extinguish  about  two  hundred  pastoral 
charges,  and  to  annihilate  as  many  kirk-sessions,  by  whose 
vigorous  agency  a  considerable  inroad  had  been  already 
made  upon  the  ignorance  and  irreligion  of  many  of  the  most 
overgrown  parishes.  It  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  most  harm- 
less privileges  which  any  society  can  enjoy,  that  of  adding  to 
to  the  number  of  its  office-bearers,  and  of  originating  methods 
by  which  their  labors  on  behalf  of  the  great  objects  of  the  in- 
stitution may  be  most  effectively  prosecuted.     This  privilege 


384  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1843. 

was  now  denied  to  the  Scottish  Establishment,  Taken  in  con- 
junction with  a  previous  decision  of  the  Court  of  Session,  that 
all  the  Sabbath  collections  at  the  doors  of  the  churches  be- 
longed to  the  heritors  for  the  behoof  of  the  poor,  this  judgment 
of  that  court  overturned  the  whole  work  of  church  extension 
as  an  attempt  to  break  down  the  unmanageable  masses  which 
had  accumulated  in  so  many  parishes,  and  threw  them  back 
upon  the  exclusive  pastoral  superintendence  of  a  single  clergy- 
man. In  other  circumstances,  the  church  might  have  at- 
tempted, by  appeal  to  the  House  of  Lords,  to  obtain  a  reversal 
of  a  sentence  so  fatal  to  her  progress,  so  pregnant  with  injury 
to  the  highest  interests  of  the  country.  As  it  was,  she  re- 
ceived it  as  a  last  token  of  the  hopelessness  of  any  recognition 
of  her  spiritual  independence  by  the  Court  of  Session,  and  she 
engrossed  it  as  the  last  specimen  of  the  injustice  which  had  been 
done  her  in  that  petition  which,  at  a  meeting  of  Commission 
held  on  the  31st  January,  it  was  resolved  should  be  presented 
to  the  British  Legislature."  This  petition  was  brought  before 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the  7th  March,  1843,  by  Mr.  Fox 
Maule — "  founding  upon  it  a  motion  that  the  House  should  re- 
solve itself  into  a  committee  to  take  into  consideration  the 
grievances  of  which  the  Church  of  Scotland  complained.  Mr. 
Maule,  Mr.  Campbell  of  Monzie,  Sir  George  Grey,  Mr.  Ruth- 
erford, and  Mr.  P.  M.  Stewart  stated  the  case  for  the  church 
so  temperately,  so  judiciously,  and  so  comprehensively,  as  left 
the  church  nothing  either  to  desire  or  regret,"  while  more  than 
two-thirds  of  all  the  Scottish  members  voted  in  favor  of  the  mo- 
tion. It  was,  notwithstanding,  lost,  from  the  persistence  of  the 
English  members  in  those  views  of  the  case  drawn  from  their 
own  theory  of  what  the  relations  of  church  and  State  ought  to  be. 
This  action  of  the  Legislature  rendered  the  course  to  be  pur- 
sued by  the  church  perfectly  plain.  Turning  now  from  the 
distressing  and  profitless  negotiations  of  five  years,  the  evan- 
gelical party  devoted  their  efforts  to  preparation  for  the 
new  state  of  existence  which  they  saw  awaiting  them.  "  The 
clergymen  who  had  signed  the  resolutions  of  the  Convo- 
cation lost  no   time  in  explaining  to  their  congregations   the 


^T.  62.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS  385 

important   step   which    had    been  taken,    and    inviting  their 
adherence.   Acting  under  direction  of  a  Committee  appointed 
by  the  Convention,  the  ablest  of  their  number  were  deputed  to 
itinerate  over  the  country,  holding  meetings  in  every  parish  to 
which   they  could  find  access,  announcing  to  the  people  their 
principles  and  final  purposes,  and  obtaining  a  large  and  hope- 
ful amount  of  popular  concurrence.     All  this  however,  did  not 
satisfy    Dr.   Chalmers,  whose  grand   device  for  meeting  the 
coming  crisis  was  the  organization  of  local  associations,  upon 
the  plan  and  for  the  purposes  indicated  in  his  address  to  the 
Convocation.     Unable  to  persuade  others  to  unite  with  him, 
he  instituted  of  his  own  accord,  immediately  after  the  Convo- 
cation broke  up,  an   association  of  this  kind  in  the  parish  of 
Morningside,   where  he  resided.     Districts   were  laid    down, 
collectors  were  appointed,  donations  for  erecting  the  churches, 
and  termly  subscriptions  for  the  support  of  the   ministers  of 
the  Free  Church  were  obtained,  six  months  before  that  Church 
had  a  substantive  existence  in  the  country."     The  late  act  of 
the  government  had  "opened  the  eyes  of  many  to  the  necessity 
of  more  instant  and  practical  measures  of  preparation,  and  at 
last    the    Committee   appointed    by  the    Convocation,  united 
itself  with  another  Committee,  instituted  at  an  influential  meet- 
ing of  the  eldership,  held  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  1st  February. 
This  most  effective  body,  organized  under  the  title  of  the  Pro- 
visional Committee,  held  its  first  meeting  on  the  following  day, 
and  to  its  labors  the  Free  Church   mainly  owes  that  state  of 
orderly  preparation  and  absence  of  all  division  and  confusion 
by  which  the  days  of  the  Disruption  were  so  signally  charac-^ 
terized.     The  Provisional  Committee  divided  itself  into  three  j 
sections,  the   Financial  the  Architectural,  and  the  Statistical.  \ 
Dr.  Chalmers  took  his  position  at  the  head  of  the  first  of  these 
sections.     The  task  for  which  he  had  been  so  Ions:  reserving  ! 

o  o   j 

himself  was  now  put  into    his  hands  ;  and  with    an    energy  i 
scarcely  paralleled  in  the  busiest  periods  of  his  past  history  he  i 
set  himself  to  its  execution.     A  circular  inviting  subscriptions  ' 
and  donations,  was   instantly  drawn  up   by  him,  and  sent  in 
thousands  over  Scotland,  bearing  the  mottoes — *  Surely  I  will 
33  '  ' 


386  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1843. 

not  come  into  the  tabernacle  of  my  house,  nor  go  up  into  my 
bed  :  I  will  not  give  sleep  to  mine  eyes,  nor  slumber  to  mine 
eyelids,  until  I  find  out  a  place  for  the  Lord,  an  habitation  for 
the  mighty  God  of  Jacob  ' — *  The  God  of  heaven  He  will  prosper 
us  ;  therefore  we  his  servants  will  arise  and  build.'  The  acts 
which  followed  were  in  good  correspondence  with  these  mot- 
toes. As  preliminary  to  those  local  and  detailed  operations, 
to  which  he  attached  such  primary  importance,  Dr.  Chalmers 
addressed  a  large  and  influential  meeting,  held  at  Edinburgh, 
on  the  evening  of  the  16th  February.  'This  meeting,'  he 
said,  *  is  not  for  argument,  but  for  action.  I  think  that  the 
reasoners  upon  this  question  have  done  their  work.  The  time 
for  arcfument  is  now  over,  and  the  time  for  action  has  come  on. 
We  have  entered  upon  a  new  era,  the  era  of  deeds,  which  has  fol- 
lowed the  era  of  speeches,  and  arguments,  and  memorials  and 
manifestoes."  He  had  already  to  report  some  progress  made  in 
the  work.  "  This  brief  circular,"  he  added,  '*  was  only  sent  forth 
a  few  days  ago,  and  the  amount  of  subscription,  though  we 
have  yet  merely  broken  ground,  is  £18,550.  It  has  come  in 
upon  us  like  a  set  rain,  at  the  rate  of  £1,000  a  day."  He, 
however,  attached  much  less  importance  to  these  large  sub- 
scriptions than  to  the  smaller  but  more  numerous  and  regularly 
sustained  contributions,  on  which  the  support  of  the  ministry 
must  ultimately  depend  ;  and  urgently  pressed  the  necessity  of 
organization  for  that  purpose.  "  Having  addressed  a  meeting 
in  Glasgow,  held  for  a  like  object,  Dr.  Chalmers  devoted  him- 
self to  the  forming  and  fostering  into  vigorous  operation  of 
local  associations  all  over  the  country.  Every  hour  he  could 
spare  from  the  duties  of  the  Theological  class  was  now  conse- 
crated to  this  work — every  day  he  was  to  be  found  presiding 
at  the  meeting  of  committee,  and  directing  and  stimulating 
his  willing  fellow-laborers.  Writing  to  Mr.  Lennox,  of  New 
York,  on  the  19th  April,  1843,  he  thus  speaks  of  their  state  of 
preparedness  for  the  contemplated  disruption. — '  Our  crisis  is 
rapidly  approaching.  We  are  making  every  effort  for  the 
erection  and  sustentation  of  a  Free  Church,  in  the  event  of  our 
disruption  from  the  State,  which  will  take  place  we  expect  in 


MT.  63.  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  38Y 

four  weeks.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  great  bulk  and  body 
of  the  common  people,  with  a  goodly  proportion  of  the  middle 
classes,  are  upon  our  side,  though  it  bodes  ill  for  the  country 
that  the  higher  classes  are  almost  universally  against  us.  Not- 
withstanding this,  however,  we  are  forming  associations  for 
weekly  payments  in  rapid  progression  all  over  the  country,  and 
I  am  glad  to  say,  that  by  this  day's  post  they  amount  to  four 
hundred  and  five.  We  expect  that  by  the  meeting  of  our 
General  Assembly,  the  country  will  be  half  organized,  and  are 
looking  for  a  great  additional  impulse  from  the  Disruption, 
when  it  actually  takes  place.  I  am  hopeful  that  ere  the  sum- 
mer is  ended,  we  may  number  about  a  thousand  associations, 
or  as  many  as  there  are  parishes  in  Scotland,  so  that  unless  there 
be  an  attempt  to  crush  us  by  persecution,  I  have  no  fear  of  our 
getting  on.  But  the  Lord  reigneth,  and  He  alone  knoweth  the 
end  from  the  beginning.  Let  us  look  to  His  providence  and 
grace,  without  which  there  can  be  no  security  from  without,  nor 
vital  prosperity  within. 

*  Thomas  Chalmers.' 

**  The  faith  in  one  another,  and  the  fervid  activity  in  pros- 
pect of  the  Disruption,  displayed  by  Dr.  Chalmers  and  his  as- 
sociates, found  a  singular  contrast  in  the  apathy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  the  infatuated  incredulity  of  the  public  gene- 
rally." It  had  been  repeatedly  asserted  that  very  few  would 
forsake  their  comfortable  houses  under  the  establishment. 
Men  incapable  of  appreciating  their  principles  could  have  no  idea 
of  the  sacrifice  they  were  willing  to  make  for  it,  and  many  even 
of  their  own  brethren  misapprehended  the  force  of  their  con- 
victions of  duty.  Such  was  the  public  declaration  of  Dr.  Gum- 
ming of  London.  '*  If  government  is  firm,  I  venture,  from 
pretty  accurate  information,  to  assert  that  less  than  one  hun- 
dred will  cover  the  whole  secession  *  ■*  ^  *  *  But  I  am  not 
satisfied  that  any  ivill  secede.'^  ''  Mark  my  words,"  wrote  one 
of  the  best  informed  and  most  sagacious  citizens  of  Edinburgh, 
a  day  or  two  before  the  disruption,  "  Mark  my  words — not 
forty  of  them  will  go  out." 


388  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1848 

"  The  day  of  trial  at  last  arrived.  For  some  days  previous- 
ly, an  unprecedented  influx  of  strangers  into  Edinburgh  fore- 
shadowed the  approach  of  some  exciting  event.  Thursday, 
the  18th  of  May,  the  day  named  for  the  meeting  of  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly,  rose  upon  the  city  with  a  dull  and  heavy  dawn. 
So  early  in  the  morning  as  between  four  and  five  o'clock,  the 
doors  of  the  church  in  which  the  Assembly  was  to  convene 
opened  to  those  who  hastened  to  take  up  the  most  favorable 
positions,  in  which  they  were  content  to  remain  for  nine  weary 
hours.  As  the  day  wore  on,  it  became  evident  that  the  ordi- 
nary business  of  the  city  had  to  a  great  extent  been  suspended, 
yet  the  crowds  that  gathered  in  the  streets  wore  no  gay  or 
holiday  appearance.  As  groups  of  acquaintances  met  and 
commingled,  their  conversation  was  obviously  of  a  grave  and 
earnest  cast.  Toward  mid-day,  the  throne-room  at  Holyrood, 
in  which  the  Marquis  of  Bute,  as  Lord  High  Commissioner, 
held  his  first  levee,  was  filled  with  a  numerous  assemblage  of 
noblemen,  clergymen,  military  and  naval  officers,  the  city  ma- 
gistrates, and  country  gentlemen  from  all  quarters  of  Scotland. 
A  portrait  of  King  WilUam  III,  hung  upon  the  wall  of  the 
room,  opposite  to  the  spot  on  which  Her  Majesty's  Represent- 
ative was  standing.  The  throng  of  the  levee  was  at  its  height, 
when,  loosened  somehow  from  its  holdings,  this  portrait  fell 
heavily  upon  the  floor  ;  and,  as  it  fell,  a  voice  was  heard  ex- 
claiming, '  There  goes  the  Revolution  Settlement.'  When  the 
levee  closed,  the  customary  procession  formed  itself.  In  his 
state-carriage,  accompanied  by  a  splendid  cortege,  and  escorted 
by  a  troop  of  cavalry,  the  Commissioner  proceeded  to  the  High 
Church.  The  service  was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Welsh, 
the  Moderator  of  the  preceding  Assembly,  whose  discourse 
was  made  all  the  more  impressive  by  the  frequent  allusions  to 
the  event  by  which  it  was  so  instantly  to  be  followed.  Else- 
where, within  the  Assembly-Hall,  as  hour  after  hour  passed 
by,  the  strained  feeling  of  the  multitude,  by  whom  every  inch 
of  sitting  and  standing  ground  had  for  so  long  a  time  been  oc- 
cupied, was  beginning  occasionally  to  relax.  At  last,  however, 
the  rapid  entrance  of  a  large  body  of  ministers  into  the  space 


^T.  63.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  389 

railed  off  below  for  members,  told  that  the  service  at  St.  Giles 
was  over.  Every  symptom  of  languor  at  once  gave  way,  and 
expectation  was  at  its  utmost  stretch.  Dr.  Welsh,  the  Modera- 
tor, entered  and  took  the  chair.  Soon  afterward,  His  Grace 
the  Lord  High  Commissioner  was  announced,  and  the  whole 
assemblage  rose  and  received  him  standing.  Solemn  prayer 
was  then  offered  up.  The  members  having  resumed  their  seats, 
Dr.  Welsh  rose.  By  the  eager  pressure  forward — the  hush  ! 
hush  !  that  burst  from  so  many  lips  —  the  anxiety  to  hear 
threatened  to  defeat  itself.  The  disturbance  lasted  but  a  mo- 
ment. '  Fathers  and  brethren,'  said  Dr.  Welsh,  and  now 
every  syllable  fell  upon  the  ear  amid  the  breathless  stillness 
which  prevailed,  *  according  to  the  usual  form  of  procedure, 
this  is  the  time  for  making  up  the  roll.  But,  in  consequence 
of  certain  proceedings  affecting  our  rights  and  privileges,  pro- 
ceedings which  have  been  sanctioned  by  Her  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment, and  by  the  Legislature  of  the  country  ;  and  more 
especially,  in  respect  that  there  has  been  an  infringement  on 
the  liberties  of  our  Constitution,  so  that  we  could  not  now  con- 
stitute this  Court  without  a  violation  of  the  terms  of  the  union 
between  Church  and  State  in  this  land,  as  now  authoritatively 
declared,  I  must  protest  against  our  proceeding  further.  The 
reasons  that  have  led  me  to  come  to  this  conclusion,  are  fully 
set  forth  in  the  document  which  I  hold  in  my  hand,  and  which, 
with  permission  of  the  House,  I  will  now  proceed  to  read.'  In 
this  document,  after  the  wrongs  of  the  church  had  been  suc- 
cinctly recited,  the  parties  who  signed  it  proceed  at  its  close  to 
say — '  We  protest,  that  in  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are 
placed,  it  is  and  shall  be  lawful  for  us,  and  such  other  Com- 
missioners chosen  to  the  Assembly,  appointed  to  have  been  this 
day  holden,  as  may  concur  with  us,  to  withdraw  to  a  separate 
place  of  meeting,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  steps,  along  with 
all  who  adhere  to  us,  maintaining  with  us  the  Confession  of 
Faith  and  Standards  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  for  separating 
in  an  orderly  way  from  the  Establishment,  and  thereupon  adopt- 
ing such  measures  as  may  be  competent  to  us,  in  humble  de- 
pendence on  God's  grace,  and  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  for 


390  LIFE   OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1843 

the  advancement  of  liis  glory,  the  extension  of  the  Gospel  of 
our  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
Christ's  house,  according  to  his  holy  word  :  and  we  now  with- 
draw accordingly,  humbly  and  solemnly  acknowledging  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  in  the  things  which  have  come  upon  us  be- 
cause of  our  manifold  sins,  and  the  sins  of  the  church  and  na- 
tion ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  with  assured  conviction,  that  we 
are  not  responsible  for  any  consequences  that  may  follow  from 
this  our  enforced  separation  from  an  Establisliment  which  we 
loved  and  prized,  through  interference  with  conscience,  the  dis- 
honor done  to  Christ's  crown,  and  the  rejection  of  His  sole  and 
supreme  authority  as  King  in  his  Church.'  Having  finished 
the  reading  of  this  protest,  Dr.  Welsh  laid  it  upon  the  table, 
turned  and  bowed  respectfully  to  the  Commissioner,  left  the 
chair,  and  proceeded  along  the  aisle  to  the  door  of  the  church. 
Dr.  Chalmers  had  been  standing  immediatel}'-  on  his  left.  He 
looked  vacant  and  abstracted  while  the  protest  was  being  read  ; 
but  Dr.  Welsh's  movement  awakened  him  from  the  reverie. 
Seizing  eagerly  upon  his  hat,  he  hurried  after  him  with  all  the 
air  of  one  impatient  to  be  gone.  Mr.  Campbell  of  Monzie,  Dr. 
Gordon,  Dr.  Macdonald,  Dr.  Macfarlan,  followed  him.  The 
effect  upon  the  audience  was  overwhelming.  At  first  a  cheer 
burst  from  the  galleries,  but  it  was  almost  instantly  and  spon- 
taneously restrained.  It  was  felt  by  all  to  be  an  expression 
of  feeling  unsuited  to  the  occasion  ;  it  was  checked  in  many 
cases  by  an  emotion  too  deep  for  an)'-  other  utterance  than  the 
fall  of  sad  and  silent  tears.  The  whole  audience  was  now 
standing  gazing  in  stillness  upon  the  scene.  Man  after  man, 
row  after  row,  moved  on  along  the  aisle,  till  the  benches  on  the 
left  lately  so  crowded  showed  scarce  an  occupant.  More  than 
400  ministers,  and  a  still  larger  number  of  elders,  had  with- 
drawn. 

"  A  vast  multitude  of  people  stood  congregated  in  George's 
street,  crowding  in  upon  the  church  doors.  When  the  deed 
was  done  within,  the  intimation  of  it  passed  like  lightning 
through  the  mass  without,  and  when  the  forms  of  their  most 
venerated  clergymen  were  seen  emerging  from  the  church,  a, 


^T.  63.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEKS.  391 

loud  and  irrepressible  cheer  burst  from  their  lips,  and  echoed 
through  the  now  half  empty  Assembly  Hall.  There  was  no 
design  on  the  part  of  the  clergymen  to  form  into  a  procession; 
but  they  were  forced  to  it  by  the  narrowness  of  the  lane 
opened  for  their  egress  through  the  heart  of  the  crowd.  Fall- 
ing into  line,  and  walking  three  abreast,  they  formed  into  a  col- 
umn which  extended  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  and  more.  As 
they  moved  along  to  the  new  hall  prepared  for  their  reception, 
very  different  feelings  prevailed  among  the  numberless  specta- 
tors who  lined  the  streets,  and  thronged  each  window  and  door, 
and  balcony,  on  either  side.  Some  gazed  in  stupid  wonder  ; 
the  majority  looked  on  in  silent  admiration.  A  few  were  seen 
to  smile,  as  if  in  mockery  :  while  here  and  there,  as  the  child 
or  wife  of  some  outgoing  minister  caught  sight  of  a  hus- 
band's or  a  father's  form  accomplishing  an  act  which  was  to 
leave  his  family  homeless  and  unprovided,  w^arm  tear-drops 
formed,  which,  as  if  half  ashamed  of  them,  the  hand  of  faith 
was  in  haste  to  wipe  away.  There  were  judges  of  the  Court 
of  Session  there  who  had  placed  themselves  where  they  could 
be  unseen  observers  of  what  took  place,  who  must  have  felt 
perplexed,  it  may  be  saddened,  when  they  saw  reahzed  before 
their  eyes  the  fruits  of  their  decisions.  Elsewhere  in  the  city, 
Lord  Jeffrey  was  sitting  reading  in  his  quiet  room,  when  one 
burst  in  upon  him  saying,  *  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it  ? — 
more  than  four  hundred  of  them  are  actually  out.'  The  book 
was  flung  aside,  and  springing  to  his  feet,  Lord  Jeffrey  ex- 
claimed, '  I'm  proud  of  my  country  ;  there's  not  another  coun- 
try upon  earth  where  such  a  deed  could  have  been  done.' 

"  The  large  hall  at  Cannonmills  prepared  for  the  new  As- 
sembly, and  fitted  up  so  as  to  receive  3000  auditors,  had  been 
filled  in  the  part  allotted  to  the  public  from  an  early  hour  in 
the  morning.  When  the  procession  from  St.  Andrew's  Church 
arrived,  and  the  space  marked  off  for  ministers  and  elders  was 
fully  occupied.  Dr.  Welsh  opened  the  proceedings  with  prayer, 
after  which  he  rose  and  said  (we  quote  now^  from  a  cotem- 
porary  account)  :  '  Reverend  fathers  and  brethren,  I  presume 
our  first  duty  in  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed  un- 


392  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMEKS.  1S48, 

questionably  is  to  constitute  ourselves  by  the  choice  of  a  Mo- 
derator ;  and  I  feel  assured  that  the  eyes  of  every  individual 
in  this  Assembly — the  eyes  of  the  whole  church  and  country — 
the  eyes  of  all  Christendom  are  directed  to  one  individual 
whom  to  name  is  to  pronounce  his  panegyric.  In  the  ex- 
hausted state  in  which  my  duties  have  left  me,  it  is  scarce  in 
my  power  to  say  more,  but  indeed  I  feel  that  more  would  be 
superfluous.  The  extent  of  his  labors  in  connection  with  our 
present  position  would  justly  entitle  Dr.  Chalmers — (the  men- 
tion of  Dr.  Chalmers's  name  here,  was  received  with  extraor- 
dinary enthusiasm,  the  whole  of  the  vast  audience  rising,  cheer- 
ing for  some  minutes  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm,  and  the 
house  presenting  a  perfect  forest  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs) — 
would  justly  entitle  that  great  man  to  hold  the  first  place  in 
this  our  meeting.  But  surely  it  is  a  good  omen,  or  I  should 
say  a  token  for  good  from  the  Great  Disposer  of  all  events, 
and  the  alone  Head  of  the  Church,  that  I  can  propose,  to  hold 
this  office,  an  individual  who,  by  the  efforts  of  his  genius  and 
his  virtues,  is  destined  to  hold  so  conspicuous  a  place  in  the 
eyes  of  all  posterity.  But  this  I  feel  is  taking  but  a  low  view 
of  the  subject.  His  genius  has  been  devoted  to  the  service  of 
his  Heavenly  Master,  and  his  is  the  high  honor  promised  to 
those  who,  having  labored  successfully  in  their  Master's  cause, 
and  turned  many  to  righteousness,  are  to  '  shine  as  the  stars 
forever  and  ever.'  In  taking  the  chair.  Dr.  Chalmers  pro- 
posed that  the  proceedings  should  be  commenced  by  another 
act  of  prayer  and  praise.  The  psalm  selected  to  be  sung  com- 
menced with  the  verse — 

*  0  send  thy  light  forth  and  thy  truth ; 

Let  them  be  guides  to  me. 
And  bring  me  to  thine  holy  bill, 
Ev'n  where  thy  dwellings  be.' 

As  the  vast  multitude  stood  up  to  sing  these  words,  and  as  the 
swell  of  3000  voices  rose  up  in  melody  to  heaven,  a  sudden 
burst  of  sunlight  filled  the  building,  and  there  were  some  who 
thought  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  text,  but  six  months  before — '  Unto 
the  upright  there  ariseth  light  in  the  darkness.'     The  Assembly 


^T.  68.  LIFE   OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  393 

being-  constituted  proceeded  to  business  ;  and  on  the  follow- 
ing Tuesday,  the  act  of  the  Disruption  day  was  formally  and 
legally  completed  by  the  subscription  of  the  *  Act  of  Separa- 
tion and  Deed  of  Demission,'  by  which  470  ministers  did  'sep- 
arate from  and  abandon  the  present  subsisting  ecclesiastical 
Establishment  in  Scotland,  and  renounce  all  rio-hts  and  emolu- 
ments  pertaining  to  them  in  virtue  thereof.'  A  revenue  of  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  a  year  was  thus  voluntarily 
relinquished  for  the  keeping  of  a  good  conscience  and  on  be- 
lialf  of  the  liberties  of  the  church.  Five  years  had  passed 
since  the  first  decision  of  the  Auchterarder  case,  and  the 
fruit  of  the  conflict  which  then  commenced  was  this  rending  in 
tvfain  of  the  Scottish  Establishment.  When  that  conflict  be- 
gan there  were  none  on  any  side  who  contemplated  the  possi- 
bility of  such  an  issue,  and  perhaps  none  who,  had  it  been 
pro-announced  to  them,  would  not  willingly  have  labored  to 
prevent  it.  It  was  an  event  not  only  beyond  all  human  fore- 
sight, but  done  without  human  concert,  in  great  measure 
against  human  will.  Step  by  step  the  church  was  involuntarily 
led  on  from  the  lower  and  less  essential  to  the  larger  and  vital 
question  upon  which  her  very  existence  as  an  Establishment 
came  finally  to  be  staked.  Guided  by  a  way  that  she  knew 
not,  her  path  was  hedged  up  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left 
till  no  opening  but  one  seemed  left  for  preserving  her  princi- 
ples and  keeping  her  honor  pure  and  clean.  It  lightened 
amazingly  the  sacrifice  wiiich  so  many  of  her  ministers  were 
called  at  last  to  make,  that  not  a  shadow  of  uncerfainty  hung 
over  the  closing  act,  and  that  amid  all  the  bitterness  of  regret 
felt  by  them  in  separating  from  an  Establishment  which  they 
had  so  loved  and  venerated,  there  mingled  no  feeling  of  hesita- 
tion as  to  the  propriety  of  their  final  step.  It  was  an  act 
forced  on  them  by  the  moral  necessities  of  their  position,  from 
the  weighty  responsibilities  of  which  they  felt  as  if  providen- 
tially relieved.  Those  statesmen  who  constrained  them  to  this 
alternative  might  with  more  show  of  reason  have  denied  the 
spiritual  independence  which  they  craved  to  a  church  which 
shuts  out  the  laity  from  all  part  and  influence  in  her  afi'airs,  and 


394  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1843. 

holds  liigli  notions  of  the  priestly  oflfice  and  the  spiritual  powers 
which  accompany  it  ;  but  can  they  be  forgiven  for  denying  this 
liberty,  and  that  on  the  ground  of  an  alarm  about  clerical  do- 
mination, to  a  church  which  opened  every  court  to  an  equal, 
in  some  instances  to  a  predominating  lay  influence,  and  which 
utterly  repudiated  the  whole  doctrine  of  priestly  authority  and 
power  ?  Can  the  British  Government  be  forgiven  for  breaking 
up  the  venerable  fabric  of  the  Scotch  Church  upon  a  plea  so 
groundless,  and  for  putting  so  mournful  a  close  to  that  career 
of  Christian  usefulness  upon  which  that  church  had  so  vigor- 
ously and  so  hopefully  embarked  ?  That  an  Establishment 
manned  principally  by  such  devoted  ministers  as  were  now 
driven  beyond  its  pale,  and  guided  in  its  advancing  movements 
by  such  men  as  Dr.  Chalmers  and  his  associates,  would  have 
proved  an  instrument  of  greater  power  for  penetrating  and 
evangelizing  the  masses  than  any  which  Ave  now  see  esisting, 
we  cannot  doubt ;  and  as  the  picture  of  what  might  have  been 
rises  before  our  eye — the  picture  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
aided  by  the  countenance  and  liberality  of  the  aristocracy — 
strong  in  the  growing  attachment  of  the  great  bulk  of  the 
middle  classes — numbering  among  her  adherents  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  population  of  the  land— advancing  year 
by  year  in  numbers  and  in  strength — reclaiming  larger  and 
larger  portions  of  the  waste  places  of  the  wilderness,  and  turn- 
ing them  into  the  garden  of  the  Lord — we  sigh  in  heart-felt 
sorrow  over  an  event  which  has  put  the  fulfillment  of  such  a 
prospect  forever  out  of  sight.  We  cannot  doubt  that  for  a  ca- 
lamity so  great.  Divine  Providence  has  some  compensating 
benefits  in  store,  which  as  yet  we  do  not  see  ;  and  with  a  hope- 
ful faith  we  look  for  it,  that  in  some  great  and  beneficent  issue, 
as  unlike  to  any  which  our  sagacity  or  foresight  can  now  fore- 
shadow as  was  the  Disruption  of  1843  to  the  anticipations  of 
1834,  when  the  future  shall  have  unfolded  and  illustrated  them, 
the  purposes  of  that  wise  and  gracious  Providence  which 
watches  over  the  Church  of  Christ  will  receive  their  ample 
vindication. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  those  who  now  constituted  the  cler- 
gy of- the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  the  ministers  who  remained 
in  the  Establishment  left  to  their  own  course,  quietly  bowed 
their  shoulders  to  the  burden  and  the  scourge  of  those  whose 
bread  they  ate.  The  seven  of  Strathbogie  were  treated  by 
them  as  though  no  censure  had  been  incurred.  "  The  veto  law 
— the  proceedings  of  previous  Assemblies  relative  to  the  settle- 
ments at  Marnoch,  Culsalmond,  and  Lethendy — the  Acts  of 
1833,  1834,  and  1839,  by  which  the  ministers  of  the  Associate 
Synod,  Parliamentary  and  Extension  churches  had  been  ad- 
mitted were  all  subjected  to  the  same  simple  and  summary 
treatment."  "Mr.  Clark  had  his  license  restored  to  him,  and 
the  settlements  of  Mr.  Edwards  at  Marnoch,  and  of  Mr.  Middle- 
ton  at  Culsalmond  Avere  recognized  and  confirmed."  All 
measures  that  had  been  taken  for  increasing  the  extent  and 
activity  of  the  establishment  were  canceled,  and  all  things 
thrown  back  into  the  condition  in  which  they  had  been  before 
the  evangelical  movement  took  place  with  the  condition  now 
expressly  admitted  that  the  church  supported  by  the  State  is 
the  creature  and  engine  of  the  State.  If  Scotchmen  can  look 
with  pride  upon  the  noble  act  of  independence  and  self-sacrifice  of 
the  founders  of  their  Free  Church,  they  have  also  cause  of  shame 
in  that  so  many  of  their  countrymen  were  capable  of  sustaining 
the  domination  complained  of,  and  still  more  in  that  so  many 
consented  to  retain  their  places  in  an  establishment  under  such 
humiUating  conditions.  Something  is,  however,  to  be  as- 
cribed to  previous  habits  of  thinking  ;  and  the  strongly  retained 
notion  that  State  support  is  indispensable  to  the  efficiency  of  a 
church. 

The  tenacity  with  which  Dr.  Chalmers  clung  to  this  idea  of 

dependence  upon  the  funds  of  the  State,  even  in  the  act  of 

relinquishing  them,  from  the  most  painful  experience  of  the 

(395) 


396  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMEKS.  1843. 

evils  therewith  connected,  is  proved  by  his  declaration  made 
on  that  very  occasion  while  defining  the  attitude  of  the  Free 
Church  toward  the  government.  *'  The  voluntaries  mistake 
us,  if  they  conceive  us  to  be  voluntaries.  We  hold  by  the 
duty  of  government  to  give  of  their  resources  and  their  means 
for  the  maintenance  of  a  gospel  ministry  in  the  land  ;  and  we 
pray  that  their  eyes  may  be  opened,  so  that  they  may  learn  how 
to  acquit  themselves  as  the  protectors  of  the  church,  and  not  as 
its  corrupters  or  its  tyrants" "  Again,  if  we  thus  openly  pro- 
claim our  difference  with  men,  who  under  the  guise  of  principle — 
and  of  this  principle  we  question  not  the  honesty^ — refuse  in  the 
affairs  of  the  church,  to  have  any  participation  with  the  govern- 
ment, still  more  resolutely  do  we  disclaim  all  fellowship  with 
men  who,  under  the  guise  of  direct  and  declared  opposition,  lift 
a  menacing  front  against  the  powers  that  be  ;  or,  disdaining 
government,  and  impatient  of  restraint,  manifest  a  spirit  of 
contention  and  defiance." 

Dr.  Chalmers's  sustentation  scheme  was  the  temporal  strong- 
hold of  the  Free- Church,  without  which  all  her  efforts  would 
have  been  feeble  and  disconnected,  and  more  than  two  hundred 
of  her  churches  must  have  been  abandoned.  "His  report  as 
to  the  progress  made  in  its  establishment  was  in  the  highest 
degree  encouraging.  Six  hundred  and  eighty-seven  associa- 
tions had  been  organized.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  of 
them  were  in  full  operation,  and  had  already  transmitted  to  the 
general  treasury  upward  of  j^l7,000.  The  average  yielded  by 
each  of  these  associations  was  £73,  per  annum." 

"The  report  relative  to  the  Building  Fund,  also  given  in  by  Dr. 
Chalmers,  was  not  less  encouraging.  In  one  week  by  means 
of  the  local  associations  £16,678  had  been  collected  in  smaller 
sums,  which,  added  to  the  more  magnificent  donations  made 
during  the  few  months  preceding  the  disruption,  presented  no 
jess  a  sum  than  £104,776  already  available  for  the  erection  of 
churches.  And  the  day  of  the  Disruption  sprang  a  new  mine 
of  charity  in  the  hearts  of  thousands.  Their  ministers  having 
led  the  way,  and  given  to  the  world  a  clear  and  convincing 
testimony  to  the  reality  and  power  of  religious  principle,  in  the 


^T.  63.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  397 

pecuniary  sacrifices  wliicli  they  made  many  a  noble-hearted 
layman  was  in  haste  to  follow  and  to  rival  their  example.  First 
among  those  Christians  and  generous  men  who  have  furnished 
a  new  standard  of  individual  liberality,  stood  Mr.  William 
Campbell  of  Glasgow,  whose  benefactions  to  the  Church  of 
Scotland  during  the  progress  of  her  extensions  had  already 
amounted  to  about  £15,000,  began  a  new  career  of  a  still  wider 
liberality,  by  a  donation  £2000  to  the  Building  Fund  of  the 
Free  Church.  The  Marchioness  of  Breadalbane,  Mr.  Ewino-  of 
Levenside,  Mr.  Nisbet  of  London,  and  Mr.  Brown  Douglas 
of  Edinburgh,  were  mentioned  also  by  Dr.  Chalmers  as  the 
donors  of  sums  equally  munificent ;  and  we  regret  only  that 
the  delicacy  of  a  genuine  humility  forbids  our  naming  one,  the 
overflowings  of  whose  altogether  princely  generosity  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  and  of  which  Dr.  Chalmers  felt  himself  to  be 
be  honored  in  being  chosen  as  the  channel.  These  were  the 
offerings  of  the  rich,  but  greater  and  more  precious  in  the  eyes 
of  Him  who  still  sits  over  against  the  Church's  Treasury, 
were  the  offerings — approaching  far  more  to  the  character  of 
pecuniary  sacrifices — made  at  this  time  by  thousands  in  the 
humblest  walks  of  life." 

The  remarkable  harmony  of  the  first  Assembly  of  the  Free 
Church,  which  was  such  that  all  its  business  was  conducted 
without  debate,  and  not  once  had  a  vote  to  be  taken,  was  due, 
in  a  great  degree,  to  the  care  with  which  Dr.  Chalmers  and 
others  had  prosecuted  the  work  of  previous  preparation.  Its 
proceedings  awakened  an  intense  interest  in  the  public  mind 
and  were  daily  listened  to  by  thousands.  On  the  Sabbaths 
such  multitudes  assembled  to  worship,  that,  the  hall  of  Assem- 
bly being  unable  to  contain  them,  five  separate  congregations 
were  formed  without  the  walls. 

Yet,  amid  their  many  encouragements,  the  members  of  this 
Assembly  had  also  grave  and  affecting  cares  resting  upon  them 
personally,  which  nothing  but  an  imperative  sense  of  duty 
could  have  warranted  them  in  incurring.  It  was  in  the  rural 
parishes  that  the  severest  privations  were  borne  by  the  families 
of  the  out-going  clergy.     This  was  foreseen  and  alluded  to  by 


LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1843 

Dr.  Chalmers  before  they  separated.  "  '  Just  conceive,'  he 
said,  *  these  clergymen  returning  to  their  homes,  finding  their 
houses  in  process  of  being  dismantled  and  their  parishioners 
saddened  by  the  prospect  of  an  approaching  separation.  We 
stay  here  in  our  hilarity,  in  the  presence  of  each  other,  but 
these  gentlemen  go  to  what  were  once  their  welcome  and  com- 
fortable homes,  and  what  is  the  spectacle  that  meets  them  on 
their  return  ?  I  can  not  venture  on  the  description.  Going, 
they  and  their  families,  they  know  not  whither — resigning  all 
those  places  to  which  they  are  attached  by  so  many  fond  and 
intense  local  affections — their  garden  walks  where  they  freely 
enjoyed  the  hours  of  their  relaxation — the  peaceful  study  where 
the  man  of  learning  enjoyed  many  a  raptured  hour  of  converse 
with  his  books,  or  which  the  man  of  piety  converted  into  a 
sanctuary,  aud  held  intercourse  there  with  his  God — all  these 
to  be  resigned  and  given  up.'  '  One  venerable  minister  had  to 
send  his  wife  and  children  away  to  a  distance  of  seventy  miles 
— not  a  house  or  a  hut  nearer  being  open  for  their  accomoda- 
tion— and  he  had  himself  to  take  a  room  in  the  only  inn  which 
the  district  supplied.  Another  was  asked  by  his  widowed 
daughter  to  share  a  cottage,  within  his  parish,  in  which  she 
lived,  but  the  noble  proprietor  interfered.  She  was  warned 
that  if  she  harbored  her  own  parent  in  her  house  she  would 
forfeit  her  right  to  her  dwelling,  as  it  was  not  desired  that  any 
house  on  this  estate  should  be  a  '  lodging  place  for  dissenters.' 
A  third,  driven  from  one  of  the  loveliest  homes,  compelled  to 
study  in  a  wretched  garret,  and  to  sleep  often  with  nothing  be- 
tween him  and  the  open  heavens  but  the  cold  slate,  covered 
with  hoar  frost — his  very  breath  frozen  upon  the  bed  clothes 
— sunk  into  the  grave.' 

"  But  toil  came  as  well  as  trouble.  To  meet  the  wants  of 
the  adhereing  population  upward  of  600  congregations  had  to 
be  regularly  supplied  with  all  the  means  of  grace,  and  as 
many  churches  had  to  be  erected.  Never  in  the  history  of  the 
Christian  Church  were  so  many  sermons  delivered,  so  many 
prayer  meetings  held,  so  many  addresses  delivered,  by  the 
same  number  of  clergymen,  within  the  same  period  of  time  as  by 


^T.   63.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  399 

the  outgoing  ministers  during  the  twelve  months  which  elapsed 
from  the  day  of  the  Disruption  till  the  General  Assembly  of 
1844  ;  and  never  over  the  same  surface  of  country,  or  within 
so  short  a  time,  were  so  many  churches  built.  In  towns  the 
kindness  of  their  dissenting  brethren  afforded  many  facilities 
for  ministers  meeting  with  their  people  on  the  Sabbath  days. 
In  the  country  it  was  different.  Here  and  there  the  hand  of 
tyranny  was  stretched  out,  and  from  the  church  and  church- 
yard— from  the  bare  hill-side  and  from  the  public  highways,  on 
all  of  which  they  sought  to  assemble  and  to  worship  God — 
ministers  and  people,  were  driven,  till  they  took  their  station 
within  high  water-mark  on  the  lone  sea-beach  their  feet  upon 
the  damp  and  tangled  sea- weed — the  roll  of  those  breakers 
whose  spray  the  breeze  drove  over  them  keeping  time  to  their 
solemn  psalmody.  It  was  a  summer  in  which  there  was 
scarcely  a  rainy  or  inclement  Sabbath,  and  very  generally  in 
the  rural  districts,  even  where  no  opposition  of  any  kind  was 
encountered,  there  was  preaching  in  the  open  air.  When  this 
was  impracticable  or  inexpedient,  strange  shifts  and  expedients 
were  frequently  employed.  At  Morningside,  Dr.  Chalmers 
opened  his  own  dwelling-house,  and  converted  it  into  a  church  ; 
and  perhaps  he  never  occupied  a  more  picturesque  position 
than  when,  planted  midway  up  the  staircase,  he  preacl>ed  to  a 
disjointed  congregation  scattered  into  different  rooms,  all  of 
whom  could  hear,  but  not  half  of  whom  could  see  the  clergy- 
man. In  addition  to  the  increased  amount  of  purely  pastoral 
labor  which  devolved  upon  them,  the  leading  ministers  of  the 
Free  Church  had  large  draughts  made  upon  their  time  and 
strength  for  public  services.  The  lively  interest  which  the 
Disruption  had  created  in  other  countries,  suggested  the  idea 
of  dispatching  numerous  deputations  to  explain  the  principles 
and  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  Free  Church.  Familiar  as  the 
Presbyterians  of  Ulster  were  with  the  great  principles  involved 
in  the  controversy,  and  looking  with  the  strong  attachment  of 
children  to  the  parent  Church  in  Scotland,  they  needed  less 
either  to  be  informed  or  to  be  stimulated,  and,  as  became  them, 
they  were  the  foremost,  both  by  word  and  deed,  in  expressions 


400  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1843 

of  attacliment.  In  England,  the  deputations  from  the  North 
were  received  everywhere  with  extraordinary  demonstrations 
of  affection  and  good-will.  Public  meetings  were  held  in  the 
metropolis  and  most  of  the  principal  towns.  In  Manchester, 
thirty-five  pulpits  were  opened  upon  one  Sunday,  that  sermons 
might  be  preached  and  collections  taken.  In  Birmingham 
fifteen  pulpits  were  placed,  in  like  manner,  upon  the  same  Sab- 
bath, at  the  disposal  of  the  friends  of  the  Free  Church.  Lon- 
don was  not  so  well  organized,  but  it  exhibited  a  no  less 
generous  spirit.  Over  all  wide  England,  fervent  and  substan- 
tial expressions  of  desire  were  given  to  aid  the  men  who,  after 
making  so  great  a  personal  sacrifice,  were  attempting  the  task 
of  building  up  a  national  institute  in  a  year.  The  event  which 
had  occurred  in  Scotland  had  power  also  to  stir  profoundly  and 
extensively  the  sympathies  of  the  American  churches,  and  a 
deputation,  headed  by  Dr.  Cunningham,  crossed  the  Atlantic. 
In  one  or  other  of  these  public  services  Dr.  Chalmers  was 
again  and  again  solicited  to  engage.  It  was  pressed  upon  him 
in  particular  and  in  the  strongest  terms,  that  he  should  deliver 
a  few  lectures  in  London,  explanatory  of  the  principles  involved 
in  the  Disruption  ;  but  he  steadily  resisted  all  the  urgency  by 
which  he  was  beset.  He  had  the  profoundest  conviction  that  all 
which  Ireland,  England,  or  America  would  or  could  do  for  her, 
was  utterly  insignificant  as  compared  with  what  Scotland  could 
and  ought  to  do  for  herself.  Those  bursts  of  generous  feeling, 
which  it  was  so  pleasant  to  witness  or  excite,  would  in  a  year 
or  two  subside,  and  the  contributions  begotten  by  them  would 
die  away  in  like  manner.  To  meet  all  the  temporary  necessi- 
ties of  her  position,  it  was  proper  and  needful  that  the  Free 
Church  should  avail  herself  of  them  to  the  uttermost.  They 
served,  besides,  a  higher  and  more  enduring  object — that  of 
binding  together  the  churches  in  the  bonds  of  a  brotherly  unity, 
and  upon  that  ground  especially  were  they  to  be  cherished. 
But  ere  very  long  the  church  would  be  thrown  back  upon  her  own 
internal  resources — the  foreign  springs  would  fail,  and  it  would 
be  upon  the  home  fountain  that  all  would  finally  depend.  It  was 
to  the  striking  out  of  that  fountain,  to  tlie  rendering  it  as  deep 


iET.    64.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  401 

and  productive  as  possible,  that  Dr.  Chalmers's  whole  and 
undivided  strength  was  given.  In  August  and  September  he 
made  a  sustentation  tour,  taking  in  Perth,  Dunkeld,  Aberdeen, 
Arbroath,  Dundee  and  St.  Andrews."  In  one  or  two  instances 
he  addressed  large  audiences  ;  but  what  he  specially  souo-ht 
was  a  private  conference  with  some  "  ten,  twenty  or  thirty  of 
those,  who  in  each  place  were  ready  to  undertake  the  work  of 
making  the  regular  rounds  of  the  families  of  their  district,  that 
he  might  impress  them  with  the  magnitude  of  their  office,  and 
animate  them  to  punctuality  and  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  its 
duties." 

Returning  from  this  tour,  he  attended  the  "  meeting  of 
the  General  Assembly  held  at  Glasgow  in  October,  which  he 
opened  by  a  sermon  on  the  '  outward  business  of  the  house  of 
God,'  from  the  text,  Nehemiah  xi,  16.  The  object  of  this  meet- 
ing was,  to  revive  in  the  west  of  Scotland  that  impulse  which 
the  presence  of  the  outgoing  ministers  had  created  in  Edin- 
burgh. Interim  reports  of  the  various  operations  of  the  church 
were  read,  all  bright  with  promise,  but  covering  too  brief  a  pe- 
riod to  give  accurate  augury  of  the  future.  Reanimated  by 
their  intercourse,  the  ministers  returned  to  prosecute  their  labors 
amid  greater  outward  difficulties,  but  with  undiminished  ardor, 
during  the  succeeding  winter.  The  results,  as  announced  at 
the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  in  May,  1844,  were  in 
the  highest  degree  encouraging. 

"Without  exception,  all  the  Missionaries  in  foreign  stations 
had  declared  their  adhesion  to  the  Free  Church.  This  testi-  j 
mony  was  doubly  valuable,  as  coming  from  men  who  had  been 
quiet  spectators  of  the  conflict,  the  purity  and  devotedness  of 
whose  character  was  above  all  suspicion,  and  who  must  have 
had  many  fears  as  to  the  probabilities  of  an  infant  church, 
struggling  for  life  at  home,  being  able  to  continue  their  services 
abroad.  Their  fears  were  disappointed  ;  for,  notwithstanding 
all  that  she  otherwise  had  to  do,  the  Free  Church,  in  the  first 
year  of  her  existence,  raised  no  less  than  £32,000  for  her  va- 
rious schemes  of  Christian  philanthropy — a  sum  greater  by 
34 


/I 


4:02  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1844. 

'£12,000  than  had  been  raised  by  the  whole  church  in  the 
year  1842. 

"It  had  been  looked  upon  as  a  marvel,  that  in  the  course 
of  seven  years  previous  to  the  Disruption,  two  hundred  churches 
should  have  been  built,  in  connection  with  a  church  the  whole 
number  of  whose  ministers  numbered  about  a  thousand.  But 
that  marvel  was  lost  in  this — that  by  a  church,  whose  ministers 
numbered  at  the  commencement  only  470,  nearly  500  churches 
were  built  in  a  single  year.  And  yet  the  work  of  church-build- 
ing was  far  from  finished  ;  for,  contrary  to  all  anticipations, 
the  people  had  forsaken  the  Establishment  in  a  much  higher 
ratio,  as  to  numbers,  than  the  ministers  ;  and  it  would  have 
required  more  than  700  churches  to  accommodate  the  congre- 
gations who  were  ready  to  attach  themselves  to  the  Free 
Church.  To  meet  the  spiritual  wants  of  more  than  200  un- 
provided congregations,  the  church  had  only  130  licentiates  at 
command,  some  of  whom,  it  might  be  presumed,  were  unlikely 
to  be  elected  as  ministers.  Of  these,  so  many  as  1 14  were  or- 
dained in  the  course  of  a  year,  which  saw  the  original  church 
of  the  Disruption,  making  an  addition  of  about  one-fourth  to 
the  number  of  her  ministers. 

*'  Setting  aside  the  generous  aid  rendered  by  strangers,  up- 
ward of  £300,000  had  been  contributed  by  a  community, 
which  at  this  period  could  not  embrace  so  much  as  one-third 
of  the  population  of  Scotland.  That  particular  branch  of  the 
general  revenue  which  was  devoted  to  the  maintenance  and 
extension  of  the  ministry  appeared  also  to  be  in  a  prosperous 
condition.  Adopting  the  suggestions  embodied  in  a  pamphlet 
by  Dr.  Chalmers,  printed  and  privately  circulated  in  1843,  two 
sources  of  ministerial  income  had  been  opened.  The  produce 
of  all  the  local  associations  constituted  a  general  fund,  out  of 
which  each  minister  received  an  equal  dividend  ;  while  from 
the  collections  at  the  church  doors,  each  congregation  was 
permitted  and  encouraged  to  supplement  the  salary  of  its  clergy- 
man. With  the  Central  Sustentation  Fund,  established  by  the 
Free  Church,  the  name  of  Dr.  Chalmers  is  imperishably  con- 


^T.  64.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  403 

nected.  It  stands  and  will  long  abide  as  the  best  monument 
of  his  genius  in  ecclesiastical  finance.  Compared  with  the 
system  under  which  each  separate  congregation  sustains  its 
own  ministry,  it  presented  many  and  peculiar  recommendations. 
By  drawing  from  the  abundance  of  the  rich  a  fixed  supply  for 
the  necessities  of  the  poor,  it  preserved  a  Christian  ministry 
in  many  districts  where  otherwise  it  must  have  expired.  By 
binding  the  strong  and  the  weak  together,  it  created  a  new 
species  of  unity  in  the  church,  and  breathed  throughout  it  a 
fresh  and  healthful  spirit  of  brotherhood.  By  erecting  orderly 
channels  through  w^hich  the  overflowing  liberality  of  the 
wealthier  congregations  was  spread  equally  within  the  whole 
area  of  the  church,  it  established  a  security  against  the  fitful 
and  capricious  distributions  of  individual  benevolence.  By 
inviting  every  member  of  the  church  to  unite,  not  simply  in 
supporting  that  clergyman  whose  services  he  personally  enjoy- 
ed, but  in  sustaining  and  extending  a  gospel  ministry  throughout 
the  land,  wherever  it  was  needed,  it  gave  a  new,  if  not  a  purer 
motive  to  his  liberality,  supplying  it  '  with  a  wider  aim,  and  a 
nobler  arena.'  The  actual  income,  it  is  true,  which  in  the  first 
year  of  its  existence  it  supplied,  was  comparatively  small  and 
insufficient.  The  whole  sum  yielded  by  the  Associations 
throughout  that  year  amounted  to  £68,700,  which,  divided 
among  600  clergymen,  afforded  to  each  a  salary  of  £100. 
Many,  however,  of  the  Associations  had  but  recently  been 
organized — many  had  been  in  full  working  order,  under  the  eye 
of  an  ordained  clergyman,  during  a  portion  only  of  the  past 
year  ;  and  when  the  large  and  exhausting  efforts  expended 
upon  church-building  were  over,  it  was  confidently  and  gene- 
rally expected  that  the  Sustentation  Fund  would  be  largely 
replenished.  To  some  extent  Dr.  Chalmers  participated  in  this 
expectation.  He  rejoiced  that  one  of  the  primary  objects  of 
tlie  fund — the  maintenance  of  the  Church  of  the  Disruption  in 
all  its  original  magnitude,  had  been  more  than  realized."  But 
still  perceived  a  defect  in  the  scheme,  which  he  thought  might 
be  remedied  by  the  introduction  of  some  principle,  which 
making  the  "  gettings  out"  bear  some  regular  proportion  to 


404:  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1844. 

the  "  givings  in,"  should  be  self-acting,  self-regulating,  needing 
not  the  constant  interference  or  agency  of  any  central  authority. 
With  this  view,  he  proposed  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1 844, 
"  that  the  equal  dividend  should  be  abolished  ;  that  no  congre- 
gation should  be  put  upon  the  Fund  till  its  annual  contributions 
should  amount  to  £50  ;  and  that  each  congregation  should 
receive  from  the  Fund  one-half  more  than  it  transmitted,  till 
the  ministerial  income  should  amount  to  £150."  The  Assem- 
bly, however,  did  not  yet  perceive  the  necessity  of  the  improve- 
ment, and  almost  unanimously  rejected  it.  Later  results  have 
gone  to  prove  the  actuality  of  the  evil  which  Dr.  Chalmers 
foresaw,  and  the  Free  Church  may  yet  feel  herself  under  the 
necessity  of  adopting  the  remedy  which  he  suggested. 
/' '  The  Free  Church  movement  had  a  most  salutary  effect  upon 
f/tne  interests  of  true  religion  throughout  the  whole  region  of  its 
11  influence,  among  all  denominations  of  protestants,  on  the  conti- 
'nent  as  well  as  in  the  British  Isles.  The  delegations  from  so 
many  different  churches  which  met  in  her  Assembly  suggested 
the  idea  of  a  general  evangelical  union,  which  met  with  the 
most  zealous  support  of  Dr.  Chalmers.  Though  his  failing 
health  prevented  him  from  being  present  in  any  of  its  meetings, 
yet  with  his  pen  he  ably  contributed  to  direct  the  course  which 
the  union  should  pursue. 

Though  Dr.  Chalmers  could  no  longer  sustain  the  fatigue 
of  great  public  efforts,  and  had  withdrawn  from  the  principal 
management  of  the  financial  concerns  of  the  church,  yet  he 
still  wished  to  devote  his  remaining  strength  to  the  cause  which 
for  thirty  years  had  been  the  nearest  to  his  heart — the  religious 
instruction  and  elevation  of  the  neglected  poor.  "  I  have 
determined  "  he  says,  writing  to  Mr.  Lennox  on  the  26th  July, 
1844,  "  to  assume  a  poor  district  of  2000  people  and  superin- 
tend it  myself,  though  it  be  a  work  greatly  too  much  for  my 
declining  strength  and  means,  yet  such  do  I  hold  to  be  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  method,  with  the  Divine  blessing,  that,  perhaps,  as 
the  concluding  act  of  my  public  life,  I  shall  make  the  effort  to 
exemplify  what,  as  yet  I  have  only  expounded."  Preparatory 
to  the  execution  of  this  purpose  he  "  delivered  four  pubUc  lee- 


iET.  64.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMEKS.  405 

tures  in  the  months  of  June  and  July,  directed  mainly  to  the 
illustration  of  the  superior  efficacy  of  local  schools  and  local 
churches,  so  related  to  the  limited  districts  in  which  they  are 
planted  as  to  bear  with  special  and  concentrated  effect  upon 
the  surrounding  families. 

"  The  locality  selected  by  Dr.  Chalmers  as  the  scene  of  his 
projected  enterprise  was  the  West  Port ;  a  part  of  Edinburo-h 
to  which  a  few  years  previously  an  infamous  notoriety  had  been 
attached  by  those  secret  murders,  the  discovery  of  which  sent 
a  thrill  of  horror  through  the  land.     By  an  accurate  survey,  it 
was  found  that  the  main  street  and  its  adjoining  wynds  contain- 
ed 411  families,  of  which  45  were  attached  to  some  Christian 
communion  ;  70  were  Roman  Catholics  ;  and  296  had  no  con- 
nection with  any  church  whatever.     Out  of  a  gross  population 
of  2000,  three-fourths  of  the  whole,  or  about  1500  of  the  inha- 
bitants were  living — within  sound  of  many  a  Sabbath-bell,  and 
with  abundance  of  contiguous  church  accommodation — lost  to 
all  the  habits  and  all  the  decencies  of  the  Christian  life.     In 
these  families  the  number  of   children  capable  of  attending 
school  was  only  411,  and  of  these,  290  were  growing  up  alto- 
gether untaught.     The  physical  and  moral  condition  of  this 
community  was  deplorable  ;  one-fourth  were  paupers  on  the 
poor-roll,  and  one-fourth  were  street- beggars,  thieves,  or  pros- 
titutes.     When  Mr.  Tasker,  the  minister  of  the    West   Port 
made  his  first  visits  to  some  of  the  filthiest  closes,  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  for  him  to  find  from  twenty  to  thirty  men, 
women  and  children,  huddled  together  in  one  putrid  dwelling, 
lying  indiscriminately  on  the  floor,  waiting  the  return  of  the 
bearer  of  some  well-concocted  begging-letter,  or  the  coming  on 
of  that  darkness  under  which  they  might  sally  out,  to  earn  by 
fair  means  or  by  foul,  the  purchase-money  of  renewed  debauch- 
ery."    Formidable  as  the  undertaking  seemed,  to  reform  and 
christianize  such  a  population.  Dr.   Chalmers,  aided  by    that 
band  of  zealous  associates,  which  his  lectures  had  called  around 
him,  went  hopefully  forward.     He  divided  the  West  Port  into 
twenty  districts,  containing  each  about  twenty  families,  "  Over 
each  of  these  districts  a  visitor  was  appointed,  whose  duty  it 


406  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1844. 

was  to  visit,  once  each  week,  all  the  famihes  committed  to  his 
care  ;  by  all  such  attention  and  services  as  he  could  offer  to 
win  their  good  will — by  reading  the  Scriptures,  by  distributing 
tracts,  by  entering  into  conversation,  and  by  engaging  in  pray- 
er— to  promote,  as  fit  openings  were  given  him,  their  spiritual 
welfare.  A  printed  slip,  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  was  to 
be  left  in  every  house  by  each  visitor,  explaining  the  object  of 
his  present  and  future  calls."  A  school  was  established  in  the 
very  neighborhood  where  Burke  and  his  accomplices  had  per- 
petrated their  horrible  murders,  and  under  an  excellent  and 
prudent  teacher,  was  opened  on  the  1 1th  November,  1844,  with 
sixty-four  day  scholars  and  fifty- seven  evening  scholars.  The 
school  house  was  the  upper  loft  of  a  deserted  tannery,  "  low 
roofed  and  roughly  floored,  its  raw,  unplastered  walls  pierced 
at  irregular  intervals  with  windows  of  unshapely  form,  it  had 
little  of  either  the  scholastic  or  ecclesiastical  in  its  aspect ;  but 
never  was  the  true  work  of  school  and  church  done  better  than 
in  that  old  tannery -loft  of  the  "West  Port."  Dr.  Chalmers  had 
told  the  people  in  an  address  dehvered  to  them,  a  few  days 
previously,  what  it  was  his  purpose  to  do  for  them,  that  they 
should  be  furnished  with  one  of  the  best  teachers  of  the  country, 
but  that  they  must  make  the  school  their  own  by  paying  for 
it,  at  the  rate  of  two-pence  a  week  for  each  child's  education ; 
that,  however,  as  the  article  they  were  to  be  supplied  with  was 
worth  a  great  deal  more,  he  had  no  doubt  they  would  gladly  pay 
it.  The  people  were  quite  delighted  both  with  the  speech  and  the 
proposition,  and  evidently  won  by  the  kindness  evinced  thereby. 
"  The  educational  part  of  the  process  having  been  fairly  set 
a  going,  the  higher  and  more  difficult  operation  was  commenced, 
of  bringing  the  adult  population  under  regular  spiritual  instruc- 
tion. On  the  forenoon  of  Sabbath  the  22d  December,  Dr. 
Chalmers  opened  the  tan-loft  for  public  worship."  Dr.  Hanna, 
who  was  present  on  the  evening  of  that  day  when  the  city 
missionary  officiated,  says  that  when  he  looked  round  and  saw 
that  the  Avhole  fruit  of  the  advices  and  requests,  and  entreaties 
which  for  many  previous  weeks  had  been  brought  to  bear  upon 
all  the  families  by  the  visitors,  was  the  presence  of  about  a 


MT.    65.  LIFE    OF    DK.     CHALMERS.  407 

dozen  adults,  and  those  mostty  old  women,  he  confessed  to 
strong  misgivings  as  to  the  result.  But  the  services  were  regu- 
larly continued  three  times  every  sabbath,  and  the  system  of 
visiting  faithfully  carried  out;  and  in  April,  1845,  Dr.  Chalmers 
was  peculiarly  happy  in  securing  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Tasker,  under  whom  the  congregation  steadily  increased.  The 
enterprise  was  one  which  occupied  much  of  the  labor  of  Dr. 
Chalmers,  and  a  still  more  prominent  place  in  his  petitions 
before  the  Tlu'one  of  Grace.  In  the  course  of  the  year  1846,' 
the  liberality  of  several  christian  friends,  whom  he  had  interested 
in  it,  enabled  him  to  hasten  its  progress  considerably,  by 
furnishing  the  means  "  not  onl}'-  to  build  a  church  and  school- 
room, but  also  to  purchase  and  fit  up  a  tenement  of  houses,  as 
model  houses  for  working  men,  in  which,  at  a  low  rent,  addi- 
tional means  of  cleanliness  and  comfort  were  enjoyed. 

"  On  Friday  the  19th  February,  1847,  the  West  Port  church 
was  opened  for  public  worship  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  on  the 
25th  April,  he  presided  at  the  first  sacrament  administered 
within  its  walls.  On  the  following  Monday  he  said  to  Mr. 
Tasker — '  I  have  got  now  the  desire  of  my  heart — the  church 
is  finished,  the  schools  are  flourishing,  our  ecclesiastical  machin- 
ery is  about  complete,  and  all  in  good  working  order.  God  has 
indeed  heard  my  prayer,  and  I  could  now  lay  down  my  heaci 
in  peace  and  die.'  "     That  consummation  was  not  long  delayed. 

As  to  the  after  progress  of  the  church  and  school  thus 
founded,  it  is  remarked  by  Dr.  Hanna,  five  years  after  Dr. 
Chalmers's  death,  that  "  under  the  admirable  management  of 
Mr.  Tasker,  each  year  has  witnessed  an  advancing  progress. 
In  its  educational  department  the  work  is  complete.  In  the 
different  schools,  male  and  female,  day  and  evening,  between 
400  and  500  children  are  in  attendance  ;  nor  is  it  known  that 
there  is  a  single  child  of  a  family  resident  within  the  West  Port 
who  is  not  at  school.  The  habit  of  church  attendance  has 
become  as  general  and  regular  in  the  West  Port  as  it  is  in  the 
best  conditioned  districts  of  Edinburgh.  The  church  is  filled 
to  overflowing,  and,  while  these  pages  are  passing  through  the 
press,  the  people  of  the  West  Port,  who  among  themselves 


408  LIFE    OF    DE.    CHALMEKS.  1845 

contributed  no  less  than  £100  to  the  building  of  their  church 
at  first,  are  contributing,  at  an  equal  rate  of  liberality,  for 
the  erection  of  a  gallery.  It  was  Dr.  Chalmers's  conviction 
that  in  the  worst  localities  the  means  existed,  and  could  be 
evoked,  by  which  an  effective  gospel  ministry,  if  once  created, 
could  afterward  be  sustained  ;  and  the  history  of  the  West  Port 
confirms  that  conviction.  The  ecclesiastical  machinery  is  now 
complete,  and  were  it  separated  from  the  rest  it  could  be  main- 
tained in  all  its  present  efficiency  by  the  freewill  offerings  of  the 
people  themselves.  During  the  last  year,  beside  meeting  all 
the  expenses  necessary  for  the  due  support  of  Christian  ordi- 
nances, amounting  to  nearly  £250,  the  West  Port  congregation 
has  contributed  £70  to  missionary  and  educational  objects. 
Nor  has  the  cost  been  great  at  which  all  this  has  been  effected. 
A  site  has  been  purchased,  a  church,  seated  for  520,  has  been 
erected,  commodious  schoolrooms  have  been  built  and  furnished, 
a  large  adjoining  tenement  has  been  bought  and  fitted  up,  the 
minister's  and  the  schoolmaster's,  and  the  schoolmistress's 
salaries  have  been  paid,  and  all  incidental  expenses  discharged, 
during  seven  years  and  a  half,  for  less  than  £5500." 

The  efforts  made  by  Dr.  Chalmers  to  obtain  an  improvement 
in  the  course  of  college  and  theological  instruction,  have  already 
been  mentioned,  together  with  the  apathy  with  which  they 
were  regarded  by  the  University  authorities  of  his  native  land. 
It  was  in  the  new  colleo-iate  arrang-ements  of  the  Free  Church 
that  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  scheme  for  Theologi- 
cal education  adopted  ;  both  in  the  number  of  instructors  and 
the  distribution  of  subjects  among  them.  With  five  theological 
professors  instead  of  three,  the  highest  number  in  the  Scottish 
Universities,  formerly,  a  more  complete  course  of  instruction 
is  now  furnished  in  the  institution  established  under  his  aus- 
pices than  in  any  other  in  the  British  dominions. 

Dr.  Chalmers  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  professorial  career  in 
Edinburgh  went  through  a  wide  course  of  lectures,  publishing 
portion  after  portion,  as  delivered,  thereby  entailing  upon  him- 
self the  continual  task  of  new  composition  for  the  succeding 
session.     Subjects,  besides,  were  constantly  occurring  to  him 


^T.    65.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  409 

*'  of  a  character  somewhat  extraneous  to  the  proper  topics  of 
his  course,  upon  which  a  brief  set  of  lectures  were  drawn  up 
and  delivered  to  his  students.  The  result  of  the  whole,  while 
impairing  the  orderly  treatment  of  the  common  heads  of  Divin- 
ity, was  eminently  favorable  to  that  freshness  and  force  of 
impulse  which  it  was  his  great  distinction  as  a  teacher  to  com- 
municate. He  who  studies  attentively  the  first  four  volumes 
of  the  one,  and  the  last  three  volumes  of  the  other  series  of 
his  Works,  will  not  readily  believe,  that  even  in  respect  of  the 
amount  and  variety  of  information  communicated  to  them,  the 
students  of  Dr.  Chalmers  fared  worse  than  others  ;  but  it  was 
not  here  that  his  power  and  glory  lay,  as  the  greatest  teacher 
of  Theology  our  country  has  ever  seen.  Others  have  amassed 
larger  stores  of  learning,  and  conveyed  them  to  their  students 
in  more  comprehensive  and  compendious  forms.  But  who  ever 
lit  up  the  evidences  and  truths  of  Christianity  with  a  light  so 
attractive  ;  and  who  ever  filled  the  youthful  breasts  of  those 
who  were  afterward  to  occupy  the  pulpits  of  the  land,  with  the 
fire  of  so  generous  and  so  devoted  an  enthusiasm !  His  pro- 
fessorial career  had  lasted  for  twenty  years  when  the  Disruption 
occurred.  Even  at  that  time  he  could  travel,  he  said,  from 
one  end  of  Scotland  to  the  other,  and  spend  each  night  in  the 
manse  of  one  of  his  former  pupils  ;  and  if  the  growing  major- 
ities in  the  General  Assembly  by  which  that  event  was  preceded 
were  analyzed,  it  would  appear  that  nine-tenths  at  least  of 
those  who  had  listened  to  his  fervid  prelections  in  the  Univer- 
sity, counted  it  honor  to  stand  by  the  side  of  their  venerated 
instructor  when  the  hour  of  trial  came.  Immediately  after  the 
Disruption,  Dr,  Chalmers  resigned  his  Chair  at  the  University, 
and  accepted  the  appointment  of  Principal  and  Primarius  Pro-; 
lessor  of  Divinity  in  whatever  collegiate  institution  the  Freei_ 
Church  might  be  able  to  erect.  Strongly  convinced  that  with 
the  slender  attractions  which  its  unendowed  and  under-paid 
offices  held  out,  the  future  ministry  of  the  Free  Church  could 
alone  maintain  its  position  in  the  country  by  the  superior  scho- 
larship and  deeper  piety  of  its  ministers,  he  gave  an  increased 
measure  both  of  time  and  care  to  the  duties  of  his  professor- 
35 


410  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1843 

ship  ;  and  after  the  experience  of  tliree  sessions  he  had  this 
hopeful  testimony  to  bear  :  *  The  convener  of  your  Commiitee 
has  the  satisfaction  of  bearing  witness,  and  this  after  the  expe- 
rience of  eighteen  winters  as  a  Professor  of  Theology,  and  five 
more  as  the  occupier  of  a  previous  chair,  that  his  class  of  last 
session  stands  the  highest  in  his  estimation  of  all  which  have 
preceded  it,  if  not  in  its  superior  number  of  eminent  and  dis- 
tinguished students  who  stand  above  the  level  of  their  fellows, 
in  what  is  far  better — a  more  elevated  table-land  of  general 
proficiency  and  good  scholarship.  But  it  is  of  greatly  sur- 
passing moment  that  we  should  have  to  report  an  obvious  in- 
crease, from  year  to  year,  in  their  sense  of  things  sacred,  and 
devotedness  of  heart  and  spirit  to  the  great  objects  of  the 
Christian  ministry.'  In  the  hope  of  contributing  to  this  in- 
crease, during  his  last  collegiate  sessions  Dr.  Chalmers  was  in 
the  habit  of  inviting  his  students  to  private  interviews,  devoted 
wholly  to  conversation  relative  to  their  own  spiritual  condition 
and  prayer." 

After  his  transference  to  the  Free  Church  College,  Dr. 
Chalmers's  "  undivided  labor  was  bestowed  upon  systematic 
theology.  It  had  for  many  years  been  the  highest  object  of 
his  literary  and  professorial  ambition  to  leave  behind  him  a 
complete  body  of  Divinity,  containing  the  fruits  of  his  maturest 
reflections,  both  on  the  credentials  and  contents  of  the  Christian 
Revelation.  Had  his  Lectures  on  Natural  Theology  and  the 
Evidences  not  been  already  given  to  the  public,  they  would 
have  been  subjected  to  the  same  process  of  condensation 
through  which  his  other  lectures  were  made  to  pass,  and  his 
*  Institutes  of  Theology,'  when  given  to  the  world,  would 
have  presented  a  more  uniform  and  homogeneous  aspect  than 
they  now  wear.  As  for  many  years  he  had,  however,  to  go 
over  the  same  ground  with  his  students  which  the  first  four 
volumns  of  his  works  embraced,  he  adopted  the  plan  of  employ- 
ing these  volumes  as  text  books,  accompanying  his  examina- 
tions with  that  summary  and  review  of  their  contents  which 
form  Book  II.  and  Book  III.  of  his  '  Institutes  of  Theology.' 
With  the  obvious  disadvantage  of  subjecting  the  reader  of  this 


^T   65.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  411 

last  work  to  a  reiteration  of  familiar  topics,  those  two  books'  of 
the  '  Institutes '  exhibit  a  compactness  of  diction,  which 
amply  proves  that  he  could  when  he  pleased  transfer  the 
brevity  and  force  of  his  spoken  into  his  written  language,  and 
what  will  be  of  no  ordinary  importance  to  any  one  who  under- 
takes the  hitherto  unattempted  task  of  estimating  the  direct 
and  original  contributions  which  Dr.  Chalmers  had  made  to 
theological  science,  they  give  us  his  own  estimate  of  what  he 
conceived  to  be  most  valuable  in  his  earlier  writings.  It  is, 
however,  to  that  portion  of  the  '  Institutes'  which  treats  of 
the  subject-matter  of  Christianity  that  we  would  especially  so- 
licit attention.  Upon  no  part  of  his  published  writings  was  so 
large  a  share  of  their  author's  care  and  thought  bestowed. 
There  are  to  be  found  here  his  latest  and  ripest  thoughts  upon 
some  of  the  profoundest  questions  with  which  the  human  intel- 
lect has  engaged  ;  if  not  set  forth  in  the  gorgeous  amplifications 
in  which  he  loved  previously  to  indulge,  yet  in  the  simpler 
purer,  weightier  diction  which  became  one  who  was  leaving 
his  last  intellectual  legacy  to  the  world. 

The  '  Institutes  of  Theology '  and  the  *  Daily  Scripture 
Readings'  were  commenced  about  the  same  time,  and  were 
carried  on  simultaneously,  a  portion  of  each  being  written 
daily,  and  the  transition  being  frequently  instantaneous  from 
the  one  composition  to  the  other.  Engaged  with  the  one,  he 
brought  to  the  Divine  oracles  a  mind  singularly  free  of  theo- 
logical prejudice  ;  he  sat  as  a  little  child  at  the  feet  of  Divine 
wisdom,  and  received  into  a  meek  and  loving  heart,  according 
to  its  plain  and  natural  meaning,  each  utterance  she  gave  forth, 
Eno-as^ed  with  the  other,  he  broug^ht  to  the  sacred  oracles  a 
mind  full-fraught  with  the  true  spirit  of  the  Inductive  Phil- 
osophy, and  collecting  the  varied  testimonies  of  the  Divine  re- 
cord as  the}''  l<iy  scattered  over  the  sacred  page,  he  combined 
them  into  one  complete  and  harmonious  system.  The  two  en- 
gagements were  most  unlike.  Yery  rarely  has  the  same  sim- 
plicity in  the  one,  and  the  same  science  in  the  other,  been  ex- 
hibited ;  but  where  shall  we  find  another  instance  in  which  the 
two,  brought  into  such  daily  and  close  proximity,  went  on  so 


412,  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1845> 

harmoniously  together  ?  The  many  prayers,  however,  which 
Dr.  Chalmers  offered  that  he  might  be  preserved  from  the  fet- 
ters of  an  artificial  orthodoxy,  may  be  taken  as  an  evidence 
that  even  in  his  instance  it  was  not  without  an  effort  that  sim- 
plicity sat  embosomed  in  system,  while  system  did  nothing  to 
hurt  simplicity. 

Besides  the  composition  of  his  '  Institutes  of  Theology,'  the 
only  other  literary  occupation  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  later  years 
was  an  occasional  contribution  to  the  *  [N'orth  British  Review.' 
This  publication,  which  under  its  present  accompUshed  Editor, 
ranks  with  the  best  conducted  and  most  influential  of  our  lite- 
rary journals,  was  estabhshed  in  1844  by  Dr.  Welsh,  Mr.  Ed- 
ward F.  Maitland,  and  a  few  friends  in  Edinburgh,  to  whom  it 
appeared  that  there  was  both  room  and  need  for  a  Review  of 
the  highest  class,  the  organ  of  no  party,  political  or  ecclesias- 
tical, and  which  instead  of  ignoring  or  affecting  to  disown 
Christianity,  was  imbued  with  its  spirit."  It  was  designed  to 
embrace,  in  the  language  of  Dr.  Arnold  respecting  another 
periodical,  "  not  so  much  articles  on  religious  subjects  as  arti- 
cles on  common  subjects  written  in  a  decidedly  Christian  tone." 
The  contributions  of  Dr.  Chalmers  to  this  review  are  now  pub- 
lished in  the  volume  of  his  miscellaneous  writings. 

The  publication  of  Morell's  History  of  Modern  Philosophy 
awakened  in  his  mind  a  lively  interest  in  the  German  Philoso- 
phy. Valuable  truth  he  discovered  in  it,  and  yet  the  whole- 
sale adoption  of  any  of  its  systems  he  thought  very  much  to  be 
deprecated,  and  to  be  best  guarded  against  by  a  strong  and 
faithful  discussion  of  its  truths  and  errors.  Such  a  work  he 
greatly  desired  to  undertake,  and  actually  delivered  a  short 
course  of  lectures,  as  an  entry  upon  the  subject,  which  were 
afterwards  embodied  in  an  article  for  the  North  British  Review. 
The  amount  of  his  information  on  that  head  was  not  adequate 
■^,  to  the  completion  of  his  plan  ;  but,  notwithstanding  his  ad- 
vanced age,  which  seemed  to  forbid  the  labor  of  so  large  a  new 
attainment,  he  laid  out  his  design  for  lectures  on  Kant,  Fichte, 
and  Cousin,  which  to  execute  in  his  usual  manner  would  have 
involved  years  of  intense  study.     While  still  engaged  in  this 


^T.  fi5.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEKS.  413 

pursuit  he  was  gratified  by  the  appearance  in  Edinburgh  of 
Prof.  Tholuck  of  Halle.  The  attachment,  which  sprung  up  in 
a  few  days  between  those  two  illustrious  men  was  in  the  highest 
degree  beautiful.  Their  first  meeting  is  thus  mentioned  by  Dr. 
Russell,  at  whose  house  Prof.  Tholuck  was  residins".  *'  Dr. 
Chalmers  seated  himself  on  a  low  chair,  close  to  the  learned 
German,  and  listened  with  an  air  of  genuine  docility  to  all  he 
said,  throwing  in  a  stray  characteristic  observation  now  and 
then,  always,  however  in  the  way  of  encouragement,  never  in 
the  way  of  contradiction.  Dr.  Tholuck  had  published  some 
verses  of  a  religious  character,  which  had  given  umbrage  to 
some  sect  or  other.  He  showed  the  lines  to  Dr.  Chalmers, who 
admiring  them,  observed  that  he  had  often  been  taken  to  task 
himself  for  a  similar  latitudinarianism  ;  *  for,  my  dear  Sir,'  he 
added,  *  some  people  have  a  very  fine  nose  for  heresy.' 
While  Dr.  Chalmers  was  sitting  in  this  posture,  drinking  in 
all  that  was  said  to  him,  Tholuck  turned  to  his  host,  and  said 
in  German,  that  he  had  never  seen  so  beautiful  an  old  man. 
The  words  coming  out  so  suddenly  in  an  unknown  tongue,  in- 
stantly changed  the  expression  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  face  from  that 
of  happy  acquiescence,  to  one  of  puzzled  amazement,  which 
was  in  the  highest  degree  comic,  and  this  effect  was  not  les- 
sened by  his  eager  putting  of  the  question,  '  What  is  it.  Sir, 
that  he  says  ?' — a  question  impossible  to  answer,  and  yet  not 
easy  to  evade.  The  result  of  this  interview  was  an  amount  of 
mutual  confidence  and  esteem,  as  deep  and  sincere  as  it  was 
sudden.  Dr.  Tholuck  took  an  early  opportunity  of  returning 
the  visit,  and  spent  some  hours  with  Dr.  Chalmers,  urging  upon 
him  in  the  most  direct  and  homely  way,  the  necessity  of  direct- 
ing his  mind  to  the  study  of  the  German  Theology,  for,  as  it 
was  from  that  quarter  the  bane  had  come  which  was  poisoning 
the  simple  faith,  so  it  was  there  alone  that  the  antidote  could  be 
found.  The  day  before  Tholuck's  departure,  Dr.  Chalmers 
called  upon  him  and  found  him  at  his  mid-day  repast.  He  sat 
with  him  only  for  a  minutes,  and  said  little,  but  looked  at  him 
constantly  with  an  expression  of  earnest  interest  and  affection. 
He  rose  to  take  leave  ;  and,  instead  of  taking  him  by  the  hand. 


414  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  lS4o 

he  threw  his  arms  around  his  neck  and  kissed  him,  while  *  God 
bless  you,  my  dear  friend,'  broke  with  apparent  difficulty  from 
his  overcharged  heart.  After  he  was  gone,  it  was  noticed  that 
a  tear  had  gathered  in  the  eye  of  him  who  had  i-eceived  the 
apostolic  benediction  and  seal  of  brotherhood  from  one  he 
loved  and  venerated  so  much.  His  only  observation  was  a 
half- muttered  half-spoken,  eben  ein  Kuss — even  a  kiss." 

His  speculations  in  German  philosophy  were  interrupted  by 
a  more  imperative  call,  kindling  all  the  sympathies  of  his  na- 
ture. The  fearful  famine  of  1846  and  1847  arising  from  the 
failure  of  the  potato  crop,  "left  300,000  of  the  population  in  the 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  and  many  millions  in  Ire- 
land, to  face  the  coming  year  with  food  in  hand  sufficient  to 
sustain  them  only  for  a  few  weeks.  The  extent  of  the  failure 
of  the  crop  was  no  sooner  announced  than  the  awfulness  of  the 
impending  catastrophe  filled  Dr.  Chalmers  with  alarm  and 
anxiety.  He  foresaw  that  nothing  but  an  act  of  prompt  and 
unparalleled  generosity  could  ward  off  the  fearful  calamity  of 
hundreds  and  thousands  in  a  Christian  land  miserably  perish- 
ing from  want  of  food.  To  wait  till  the  cry  of  actual  hunger 
was  heard,  the  sight  of  the  dying  kindled  sympath}',  was  to 
ring  the  death-knell  over  multitudes  to  whom  the  relief  would 
come  too  late.  Fastening  his  first  thoughts  upon  the  Highlands, 
he  not  only  hastened  to  gather  up  all  the  information  conveyed 
through  pubhc  channels,  but  by  private  circulars  of  his 
own,  widely  distributed,  he  obtained  the  most  minute  and 
trustworthy  accounts  of  the  state  of  the  suffering  population. 
As  a  great  proportion  of  them  were  members  of  the  Free 
Church,  it  became  that  Church  to  step  prominently  forward 
in  this  emergency,  and  to  do  what  she  could  to  save  them  from 
the  horrors  of  famine.  Nor  did  she  fail  in  her  duty  at  this 
time  ;  being  the  first  public  body  that  moved  organizing  an 
effective  Committee  of  Relief,  and  ordering  a  public  collection 
to  be  made  in  all  her  churches  on  Sabbath,  the  6th  Decem- 
ber, 1846."  The  amount  of  that  collection  was  uncommonly 
large,  "the  Committee  of  Relief  being  put  into  possession  of 
no  less  a  sum  than  £16,000.     This  denominational  eflbrt  was 


MT.  65.  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  415 

soon  merged  into  those  larger  measures  of  relief  which  Scot- 
land so  promptly  and  successfully  adopted,  so  that  while  thou- 
sands died  in  Ireland — Avhole  households  perishing  together, 
and  many  lying  unburied  till  the  dogs  came  and  devoured  their 
bodies — it  was  not  known  that  in  Scotland  a  single  individual 
died  solely  and  directly  from  want  of  food.  It  required,  hov^ 
ever,  incessant  vigilance,  and  no  small  amount  of  generosity,  to 
be  sustained  all  through  the  winter.  In  addition  to  the  public 
tide  of  charity  flowing  in  upon  the  Highlands,  innumerable  les- 
ser streams  were  kept  constantly  flowing.  Very  large  sums 
w^ere  committed  to  Dr.  Chalmers  for  private  distribution. 
There  was  scarcely,  indeed,  a  daily  post  which  did  not  bring 
him  some  donation  ;  and  he  never  watched  for  letters  more 
eagerly,  and  he  never  read  any  with  greater  delight.  He  had 
many  methods  of  communicating  directly  or  indirectly  with  the 
Highlands,  and  of  dispensing  the  money  intrusted  thus  to  his 
care.  To  one  lady  alone,  the  late  Mrs.  Mackay,  we  are  aware 
of  his  having  committed  £500.  Nor  was  Ireland  forgotten. 
Her  greater  sorrows  claimed  a  large  share  of  his  sympathy  ; 
and,  tlirough  Miss  Pringle  of  Edinburgh,  and  Dr.  Edgar  of 
Belfast,  he  had  pleasure  in  conveying  his  own  and  other  gifts 
of  charity.  The  extraordinary  spectacle  of  upward  of  300,000 
men  employed  on  the  rehef  works — of  upward  of  three  millions 
of  people  fed  daily  by  the  hand  of  public  charity,  and  yet 
many  perishing  notwithstanding — aff"orded  matter  of  most  inter- 
esting speculation.  When  the  spring  months  came,  there  was 
a  fear  that  large  breadths  of  country  would  be  left  unculti- 
vated. The  crofters  had  neither  seed-corn  of  their  own,  nor 
money  to  buy  it  ;  and  even  after  it  was  furnished  to  them, 
they  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the  new  modes  of  agriculture 
which  it  Avould  be  necessary  for  them  to  adopt.  The  state  of 
a  country  thrown  suddenly  into  circumstances  so  new,  appeared 
to  Dr.  Chalmers  so  worthy  of  investigation  that  he  resolved  to 
devote  himself  to  the  task.  Having  presented  his  general 
views  in  a  paper  entitled,  '  The  Political  Economy  of  a  Fa- 
mine,' he  proposed  to  prosecute  a  minute  and  searching 
inquiry  into  the  past  condition  and  future  prospects  both  of  the 


416  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1845. 

Highlands  and  of  Ireland,  with  a  view  to  determine  what  were 
the  likeliest  means  of  permanently  improving  the  economic 
condition  of  their  inhabitants.  It  is  ever  to  be  regretted  that 
he  did  not  live  to  execute  a  work  for  which  much  preparation 
had  been  made,  and  many  materials  collected.  We  can  but 
indicate,  that  from  the  singular  history  of  the  Relief  Works  in 
Ireland  he  meant  to  draw  a  fresh  illustration  of  the  evils  by 
which  all  public  charity  is  accompanied,  and  of  the  inseparable 
connection  v/hich  obtains  between  the  moral  and  economic  well- 
being  of  a  community.  He  meant  to  test  the  various  expedients 
for  promoting  the  future  prosperity  of  Ireland,  by  applying  to 
them  the  general  axioms,  that  it  was  out  of  her  own  soil,  and 
by  the  industry  of  her  own  inhabitants,  that  she  must  be 
tauo-ht  to  draw  her  support,  aifd  that  the  best  and  most  efifec- 
tive  aid  which  could  be  given  her,  was  that  which  promised 
the  soonest  to  set  her  free  from  all  foreign  help." 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

It  must  have  been  with  a  keen  but  saddening  delight  that 
Dr.  Chalmers,  in  the  spring  of  1845  paid  a  visit  to  his  native 
village  and  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  the  scenes  and  now 
few  surviving  companions  of  his  early  days.  In  the  spring  and 
summer  of  the  next  year  a  tour  in  the  south  of  Scotland,  amid 
the  haunts  of  border  romance,  to  the  charms  of  which  he  had 
a  poetical  sensibility,  and  the  vale  of  the  classic  Yarrow, 
brought  him  round  upon  the  footsteps  of  his  incipient  ministry 
at  Cavers,  where  he  was  attended  by  the  grandson  of  the 
clergyman  whose  assistant  he  had  been.  And  his  last  sum- 
mer afforded  him  a  ramble  among  the  retreats  of  his  busy  life 
in  GlasgoAv. 

"  It  may  gratify  a  natural  curiosity  should  we  follow  Dr. 
Chalmers  through  the  dififerent  engagements  of  a  day  at  Morn- 
ingside,  and  furnish  some  details  of  his  personal  habits  and 
mode  of  domestic  life.  Whatever  variety  the  day  exhibited, 
it  had  one  fixed  essential  feature.  The  motto,  'Nulla  dies  sine 
linea '  never  met  with  a  more  rigorous  fulfillment.  The  pe- 
riod allotted  to  what  he  called  *  severe  composition '  had  never 
(if  we  except  his  first  winter  at  St.  Andrew's)  exbeeded  two 
or  three  hours  at  a  time,  and  in  ordinary  circumstances  there 
was  seldom  more  than  one  sitting  daily  at  such  work.  The 
tension  of  the  mind  during  the  effort  was  extreme,  but  it  was 
never  so  long  continued  as  to  induce  fatigue  or  exhaustion. 
During  the  last  six  or  seven  years  of  his  life,  his  daily  modi- 
cum of  original  composition  was  completed  before  breakfast, 
written  in  short  hand,  and  all  done  in  bed.  The  preparatory 
ruminating  or  excogitating  process  was  slow,  but  it  was  com- 
plete. He  often  gave  it  as  a  reason  why  he  did  not  and  could 
not  take  part  in  the  ordinary  debates  of  the  General  Assembly, 
that  he  had  not  the  faculty  which  some  men  seemed  to  him  to 

(417) 


418  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  1845. 

possess,  of  thinking  extempore  ;  nor  could  he  be  so  sure  of  any 
judgment  as  to  have  comfort  in  bringing  it  before  the  pubHc 
till  he  had  leisurely  weighed  and  measured  it.  He  was  ve- 
hement often  in  his  mode  of  expression  ;  but  no  hasty  judg- 
ment was  ever  penned  or  publicly  spoken  by  him.  *  I  have 
often  fancied,'  he  once  said  to  me,  *  that  in  one  respect  I  re- 
semble Rousseau,  who  says  of  himself  that  his  processes  of 
thought  were  slow  but  ardent ' — a  curious  and  rare  combination. 
In  proportion,  however,  to  the  slowness  with  which  his  conclu- 
sions were  reached,  was  the  firmness  with  which  they  were 
riveted.  He  has  been  charged  with  inconsistencies,  but  (put- 
ting aside  the  alteration  in  his  religious  sentiments)  I  am  not 
aware  of  any  one  opinion  formerly  expressed  or  published  by 
him,  which  he  ever  changed  or  retracted.  This  slow  and  de- 
liberate habit  of  thinking  gave  him  a  great  advantage  when 
the  act  of  composition  came  to  be  performed.  He  never  had 
the  double  task  to  do,  at  once  of  thinking  what  he  should  say, 
and  how  he  should  say  it.  The  one  was  over  before  the  other 
commenced.  He  never  began  to  write  till,  in  its  subjects,  and 
the  order  and  proportion  of  its  parts,  the  map  or  outline  of  the 
future  composition  was  laid  down  ;  and  this  was  done  so  dis- 
tinctly, and  as  it  were,  authoritatively,  that  it  was  seldom  vio- 
lated. When  engaged,  therefore,  in  writing,  his  whole  undi- 
vided strength  was  given  to  the  best  and  most  powerful 
expression  of  pre-established  ideas.  So  far  before  him  did  he 
see,  and  so*  methodically  did  he  proceed,  that  he  could  calcu- 
late for  weeks  and  months  beforehand,  the  rate  of  his  progress, 
and  the  day  when  each  separate  composition  would  be  finished. 
"  The  same  taste  for  numerical  arrangement  was  exhibited  in 
the  most  insignificant  actions  and  habits  of  his  life.  It  regu- 
lated every  part  of  his  toilet — down  even  to  the  daily  stropping 
of  his  razor.  Beginning  with  his  minimum,  which  was  two 
strokes,  he  added  one  stroke  more  each  day  successively,  till 
he  got  up  to  the  number  fixed  on  as  his  maximum,  on  reaching 
which  he  reversed  the  process,  diminishing  the  number  of  his 
strokes  by  one  each  day,  till  the  lowest  point  was  touched  ; 
and  so,  by  what  he  would  have  called  a  series  of  oscillations 


^T.  65.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMEKS.  4:19 

between  his  maximum  and  his  minimum,  this  matter  of  the 
stropping  undeviatingly  progressed.  It  would  be  tedious, 
perhaps  trifling,  to  tell  how  a  like  order  was  punctually  observed 
in  other  parts  of  his  toilet.  He  did  almost  everything  by  num- 
bers. His  staff  was  put  down  to  the  ground  regularly  at  each 
fourth  foot-fall  ;  and  the  number  of  its  descents  gave  him  a 
pretty  accurate  measure  of  the  space  over  which  he  walked. 
Habit  had  rendered  the  counting  of  these  descents  an  easy, 
indeed  almost  a  mechanical  operation  ;  so  that,  though  meet- 
ing friends,  and  sustaining  an  animated  conversation,  it  still 
went  on.  This  mode  of  measuring  distances  was  variously 
applied.  When  he  lived  at  No.  7  Inverleith  Row,  a  complica- 
tion of  streets  lay  between  him  and  the  University,  and  he 
imposed  upon  himself  the  problem  of  discovering  a  new  route 
each  day,  and  keeping  a  register  of  their  relative  lengths. 
Next  to  the  pleasure  of  being  introduced  to  an  altogether  new 
locality,  was  that  of  thoroughly  exploring  one  already  known. 
*I  like,'  he  said  to  one*  of  his  favorite  students,  'to  find  out 
new  spots  in  places  I  am  familiar  with.  The  other  day  I  had 
some  time  to  spare,  so  I  tried  if  I  could  extemporize  a  new 
route  between  Comely  Bank  and  Inverleith  Row.  I  sauntered, 
rather  dubious,  I  must  confess,  up  a  sort  of  cart-lane,  and,  be- 
fore I  was  aware,  I  got  involved  in  the  accessories  of  a  farm- 
house, where  I  was  set  upon  by  a  mastiff,  and  so  obhged  to 
turn  back.'  When,  in  the  spring  of  1843,  he  removed  to  a 
dwelling-house  which  he  had  built  for  himself  at  Morningside, 
as  the  distance  was  too  great  for  him  to  walk  from  College,  he 
generally  drove  to  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  While  walking 
from  Wright's  Houses,  the  point  at  which  he  was  set  down,  to 
his  house  at  Churchhill,  he,  one  winter,  kept  an  accurate  reck- 
oning of  the  number  of  persons  he  met  upon  the  road  each 
day — curious  to  know  whether  a  fixed  average  would  be  ob- 
served, or  whether  it  Avould  vary  as  the  days  shortened  or 
lengthened.  Many  more  like  instances  might  be  quoted,  but 
we  must  return  to  our  details  of  his  daily  life. 

*'  *  I  find,'  he  says,  'that  successful  exertion  is  a  powerful 
means  of  exhilaration,  which  discharges  itself  in  good-humor 


420  LIFE    OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1S45. 

upon  others  '  His  own  morning  compositions  seldom  failed  in 
this  effect,  as  he  came  forth  from  them  beaming  and  buoyant, 
with  a  step  springing  as  that  of  childhood,  and  a  spirit  over- 
flowing with  benignity.  If  his  grandson,  or  any  of  the  younger 
members  of  his  family  were  alone  in  the  breakfast-room,  a 
broad  and  hearty  '  Hurro  !  hurro  !'  ringing  through  the  hall, 
announced  his  coming,  and  carried  to  them  his  morning  greet- 
ing. As  his  invariable  mode  of  dealing  with  introductions  was 
to  invite  the  introduced  to  breakfast,  very  interesting  groups 
often  gathered  round  his  breakfast  table.  In  the  general  con- 
versation of  promiscuous  society,  Dr.  Chalmers  did  not  excel. 
There  are  minor  acts  of  governing,  such  as  those  needed  for 
the  management  of  a  House  of  Commons,  or  the  conduct  of  a 
General  Assembly,  in  which  he  was  utterly  defective  ;  and 
there  are  minor  graces  of  conversation  required  for  its  easy 
guidance  through  varied  and  fluctuating  channels,  which  his 
absorption  with  his  own  topics,  and  the  massive  abruptness  of 
his  movements,  made  it  difficult,  perlmps  impossible,  for  him 
to  practice.  But  at  his  breakfast  table,  with  half  a  dozen 
strangers  or  foreigners  around  him,  his  conversation  was  in  the 
highest  degree  rich  and  attractive.  Opportunities  naturally 
occurred,  or  were  willingly  made,  for  him  to  *  expatiate '  upon 
some  passing  public  topic,  or  upon  some  of  his  own  favorite 
themes,  and  he  was  never  seen  nor  heard  to  greater  advantage. 
His  power  of  pithy  expression  (remarkably  exhibited  in  his 
occasional  employment  of  vernacular  Scotch),  and  of  pictorial 
narrative,  his  concentrated  and  intense  moral  earnestness,  his 
sense  of  humor,  his  boundless  benignity,  the  pure,  transparent, 
and  guileless  simplicity  of  his  character — received  many  of 
their  happiest  illustrations  at  such  times.  He  had  one  morning 
in  the  week  reserved  especially  for  his  students."  In  the  art 
of  making  youth  at  ease  in  his  company,  he  was  remarkably 
happy.  His  extensive  knowledge  of  the  topography  of  Britain 
contributed  to  that  end  ;  the  young  man  must  have  come  from 
a  very  out-of-the-way  region  if  Dr.  Chalmers  was  not  able  to 
enter  into  familiar  conversation  with  him  about  the  localities 
of  his  native  place.     He  **  was  much  gratified  by  the  reception 


^T.  65.  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  421 

given  to  his  works  in  America,  and  had  great  pleasure  in 
making  the  personal  acquaintance  of  Dr.  Elton,  Dr.  Sprague, 
Dr.  Smyth,  Dr.  Cox,  Dr.  Beecher,  and  other  eminent  American 
clergymen.  In  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1845,  many  trans- 
atlantic visitors  were  his  guests  at  Morningside. 

"  The  interval  between  breakfast  and  dinner  was  devoted  to 
the  *  Bibhcal  Readings,'  and  to  extending  the  shorthand  of  the 
*  Institutes.'  He  dined  latterly  at  one  o'clock,  and  as  he  had 
to  be  at  his  class  at  two,  the  meal  was  necessarily  a  hurried  one. 
He  was  indifferent  about  food,  and  remarkably  abstemious  ; 
but  there  was  no  habit  of  life  about  which  he  was  so  scrupu- 
lous," or  more  frequently  condemned  himself  of  excess.  His 
"  evenings  were  given  to  general  reading,  and  to  the  society 
of  his  family  and  friends.  He  kept  steadily  by  one  book  at  a 
time,  and  however  small  a  portion  of  it  might  be  overtaken  each 
evening,  the  perusal  was  regularly  prosecuted  to  a  close.  And 
here  too,  as  well  as  in  his  summer  visits,  he  sought  out  the 
friends  of  his  youth.  Within  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his 
life,  he  completed  an  entire  perusal  of  Gibbon,  Shakspeare,  and 
Milton.  '  I  don't  wonder  now,'  he  said,  '  at  Milton's  own  pre- 
ference for  Paradise  Regained  over  Paradise  Lost.'  The 
single  passage  of  Shakspeare  which  he  most  frequently  recited, 
was  that  one  in  Henry  IV.,  which  commences 
'  I  saw  young  Harry — with  his  beaver  on. 
His  cuisses  on  his  thighs,  gallantly  armed,'  <fec.; 

and  the  single  play  in  which  he  took  most  pleasure  was  Mid- 
summer Night's  Dream,  among  the  fairy  pictures  of  which  he 
delighted  to  revel.  '  I  look,'  he  would  say,  after  laying  down 
the  book,  '  I  look  on  Shakspeare  as  an  intellectual  miracle  ;  I 
would  put  him  before  Milton  from  his  exhaustless  variety.* 
One  of  his  students  once  told  him  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
Germans  about  Shakspeare,  and  related  the  anecdote  of 
Goethe's  comparison  between  Tieck,  Shakspeare,  and  himself, 
in  which,  with  a  singular  mixture  both  of  pride  and  humility, 
he  said,  'That  relation  which  Tieck  holds  to  me,  I  hold  to 
Shakspeare.  I  regard  Shakspeare  as  a  being  of  a  superior 
nature.'     *Well,  sir,  do  you  know,'  said  Dr.  Chalmers,  after 


422  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMERS.  1B45. 

hearing  the  anecdote,  *  I  like  that  very  much.  I  dare  say 
Shakspeare  was  the  greatest  man  that  ever  hved  —  greater 
perhaps  even  than  Sir  Isaac  Newton.'  In  February,  1845, 
two  years  after  the  Disruption,  we  find  the  following  entry  in 
Dr.  Chalmers's  journal  :  '  A  few  days  ago  finished  the  com- 
plete perusal  of  Shakspeare.  Began  Paradise  Lost,  and  am 
reading  with  great  interest,  Edwards  on  the  end  of  God  in 
Creation.  Let  me  henceforth  betake  myself  to  serious  reading.' 
"  In  his  domestic  intercourse  with  his  daughters,  there  was 
much  playful  familiarity.  Finding  one  of  them  sitting  alone 
in  a  room,  he  said  to  her — '  Well,  my  dear  little  howlet — 

Hail,  mildly  pleasing  solitude. 

Companion  of  the  wise  and  good  ; 

but  I'm  no  for  us  growing  perfectly  uncognizant  of  one  another, 
sitting  in  corners  like  sae  mony  cats.'  A  spirit  of  chivalry  ran 
through  all  his  intercourse  with  his  daughters  :  they  not  only 
ministered  to  his  comfort  in  the  hours  of  relaxation,  he  made 
them  companions,  as  it  were,  of  his  public  life,  and  sought 
their  intellectual  sympathy  with  even  his  highest  exercises  of 
thought." 

"  About  the  beginning  of  1834  "  wi;ites  the  Rev.  Mr.  Couper 
of  Burntisland,  "  Dr.  Chalmers  became  the  proprietor  of  a 
house  in  this  locality,  and  here  for  seven  or  eight  years  follow- 
ing, nearly  one-half  of  his  time  was  spent.  His  mode  of  Hfe, 
while  here,  was  tolerably  uniform  and  exceedingly  simple. 
The  earlier  portion  of  the  day  he  generally  devoted  to  study 
and  correspondence,  reserving  the  afternoon  and  evening  for  the 
society  of  his  family  and  friends,  and  for  the  exercise  of  walk- 
ing, in  which  he  took  great  delight.  He  had  many  visitors, 
not  a  few  of  them  from  other  countries  ;  and  he  scarcely  ever 
failed,  when  time  and  weather  permitted,  to  conduct  them  to 
his  favorite  points  of  view,  where  he  expatiated  with  wonderful 
enthusiasm  on  the  varied  beauty  of  the  surrounding  scenery. 
It  was  scarcely  possible  to  take  even  one  short  walk  with  him 
without  perceiving  that  his  capacity  of  enjoyment  was  singu- 
larly large.  He  could  find  beauty  everywhere  ;  at  least  he 
could  sincj-le  out  from  the  most  ordinary  scene,  some  feature  or 


^T.  65.  LIFE   OF   DB.    CHALMERS.  423 

other  on  whicli  his  mind  could  dwell  with  interest  and  plea- 
sure. 

*'  His  youthful  freshness  of  feeling  imparted    a    singular 
charm  to  his  manners  and  conversation.       Even  when  vermno- 
on  old  age,  he  was  very  strikingly  characterized  by  the  sim- 
plicity of  vivacious  and  unsuspecting  boyhood.     Of  this  pecu- 
liarity he  was  himself  quite  conscious,  and  I  have  heard  him 
more  than  once  allude  to  it.     Having  equipped  himself  one 
evening  to  go  to  Edinburgh,  he  appeared  to  have  outgrown  his 
ordinary  dimensions — the  pockets  of  his  great-coat  being  well 
stuffed,  I  think,  with   books  and  pamphlets.      This  occasioned 
some  merriment,  in  which  he  heartily  joined.    Placing  his  hands 
on  his  sides,  he  went  on  to  say,  •  I  have  now  somewhat  of  the 
solidity  and  gravity,  and  somewhat  also  of  the  breadth  of  mid- 
dle age  ;  but  I  can  scarcely  shake  off  the  feeling  of  boyhood. 
I  remember,  Mr.  Couper,  when  I  was  a  student  at  St.  Andrew's, 
with  what   profound   veneration  I   regarded  the   Professors  ; 
when  I  came  to  be  a  Professor  there  myself,  I  used  to  wonder 
if  these  gilpies  could  have  the  same  feeling  toward  me.'     I 
may  give  another  instance  equally  characteristic.      A   steep 
wooded  bank  overhanging  the  sea,  commences  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  to  the  west  of  Burntisland,  and  terminates  near  the 
village  of  Aberdour.     Here  Dr.  Chalmers  delighted  to  ramble, 
and  great  was  his  satisfaction  when  he  had  one  or  two  friends 
along  with  him  to  explore  the  Hews — for  such  is  the  name   of 
the  locality.     One  day  on  reaching  the  west  end  of  the  Hews, 
we  found  the  gate  locked,  and,  as  we  intended  to  proceed  to 
Aberdour,  we  had  to  scale  the  wall.     Dr.  Chalmers  declined 
the  offer  of  assistance,  feeling  assured  that  he  was  quite  com- 
petent to  the  task  himself.      He  soon  succeeded  in  planting 
himself  on  the  top  of  the  wall,  but  felt  it  expedient  to  rest  for 
a  little  before  attempting  to  come  down.     Perched  on  this  rus- 
tic eminence,  he  felt  as  if  carried  back  into  the  scenes  of  his 
boyhood,  and,  looking  blandly  down  upon  the  companions  of 
his  walk,  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  in  a  very  curious  and  racy 
strain  of  observation  :  the  purport  of  it  was  that  he  felt  it  very 
difficult  to  realize  his  progress  in  life,  and  that  there  was  often 


424  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMEKS.  ISio. 

a  great  contrast  between  his  feelings  and  his  years.  *  When 
I  meet,'  he  said,  'a  respectable  matron,  who  is  perhaps  a  dozen 
years  younger  than  myself,  I  feel  quite  disposed  to  look  up  to 
her  with  the  same  sort  of  veneration  that  I  felt  when  I  was  a 
boy.' 

"  "While  ensfasred  in  conversation.  Dr.  Chalmers  would  occa- 
sionally  fall  into  a  reverie,  which,  by  those  not  acquainted  with 
him,  was  felt  to  be  embarrassing.  The  reverie,  when  not 
broken  in  upon  by  others,  was  generally  terminated  by  the 
abrupt  utterance  of  some  important  sentiment  which  he  had 
been  revolving  in  his  mind.  Thus,  he  one  day  remarked,  after 
we  had  walked  for  a  while  in  silence,  'What  a  blessed  thing  it 
is,  Sir,  that  it  is  confidence  that  is  required  of  us.'  At  another 
time,  a  pretty  long  pause  was  broken  by  his  saying  with  much 
emphasis,  *  I  know  no  point  of  orthodoxy  that  is  not  susceptible 
of  a  practical  treatment.  Take  an  extreme  case — the  doctrine 
that  man  can  do  nothing  of  himself ;  I  would  just  say,  Pray 
all  the  harder.'  I  may  record  another  of  the  sayings  which 
fell  from  him  in  this  abrupt  but  impressive  manner  ;  it  is  one 
which  young  ministers  especially  would  do  well  to  ponder.  '  It 
is  of  great  importance  to  keep  up  a  tone  of  pulpit  preparation  ; 
the  efficacy  of  your  private  ministrations  will  depend  very 
much  upon  it.' 

"  He  often  became  extremely  animated — sometimes  even 
vehement — though  conversing  with  only  a  single  individual. 
This  was  especially  the  case  when  his  mind  was  occupied  with 
any  great  question  in  which  he  had  been  led  to  take  a  promi- 
nent part.  He  might  begin  calmly,  but  as  he  spoke,  *  the  fire 
burned,'  and  a  torrent  of  glowing  eloquence  soon  came  rushing 
from  his  lips.  I  have  heard  him  at  a  fireside,  in  the  recess  of 
a  window,  and  even  while  sitting  up  in  bed,  break  forth  in  a 
style  of  stormy  grandeur  sufficient  to  electrify  a  whole  assem- 
bly." 

"  He  had  a  wonderful  store  of  anecdotes  of  which  he  could 
avail  himself  with  a  happy  promptitude,  for  the  illustration  of 
any  subject  that  turned  up  in  conversation,  and  on  such  occa- 
sions his  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous  was  often  evinced  with 


^T.  67.  LIFE   OF   DR.    CHALMEKS.  425 

irresistible  effect."  Yet,  "  with  all  his  social  cheerfulness  and  ► 
beaming  joy,  there  were  tokens  not  a  few  of  an  internal  con- 
flict— glimpses  of  an  inward  desolation  which  told  unmistakably 
that,  like  David,  he  felt  himself  to  be  a  stranger  upon  this 
earth.  '  I  would  not  live  alway,'  was  a  sentence  often  uttered. 
'  What  a  wilderness  the  world  is  to  the  heart  with  all  it  has  to 
inspire  happiness  !  I  have  a  great  and  growing  sense  of  deso- 
lation. What  a  marvelous  solitude  every  man  bears  about 
with  him  ;  and  then  that  other  and  mysterious  seclusion — the 
intercepting  vail  between  us  and  the  Deity.  You  would  think 
[speaking  in  a  hesitating  tone]  that  He  would  delight  to  mani- 
fest himself  to  his  creatures.  No  doubt  the  obstacle  must  be 
in  the  subjective  —  the  clearer  the  reflecting  medium,  the 
brighter  the  manifestations.  That  is  strikingly  put  in  Matthew, 
•  the  pure  in  heart  they  shall  see  God.'  *  *  *  I  look  on  it  as 
a  strong  proof  of  our  alienation  from  God,  how  short  a  time 
we  can  sustain  a  direct  contemplation  of  Him  ;  what  a  mighty 
transformation  when  the  vail  of  outer  things  shall  be  with- 
drawn, and  we  stand  naked  and  alone  before  Him  with  whom 
we  have  to  do  ! ' 

"  Into  the  peace  and  rest  of  the  Sabbath  Dr.  Chalmers 
entered  with  a  peculiar  joy.  Beside  his  usual  evening  inter-  • 
views  with  his  children  in  his  study,  there  was  one  duty  of  a 
peculiar  kind  thrown  always  upon  the  afternoon  of  this  day. 
He  never  received  the  notification  of  a  death  without  writing 
to  some  member  of  the  afflicted  family,  and  these  letters  of 
sympathy  were  always  written  on  the  Sabbath  evenings." 

Though  holding  very  distinctly  and  firmly  his  own  views  of 
scriptural  truth,  the  extent  of  his  liberality  in  judging  of  others 
was  often  manifested  in  conversation  :  as  once  beautifully  in 
connection  with  a  remark  on  the  piety  of  the  monks  in  the 
Middle  ages.  "  We  would  need  "  he  said,  "  to  penetrate  the 
counsels  of  God,  and  the  secrets  of  another  bosom,  before  we 
could  pronounce  through  how  much  distorting  error  a  man  may 
grope  his  way  to  a  blissful  immortality." 

Dr.  Chalmers  had  now  lived  to  behold  the  entire  success  of 
that  great  evangelical  movement  in  the  church,  in  which  he  had 
36 


426  LIFE   OF   DE.    CHALMERS.  1847 

been  the  most  prominent  agent.  The  voluntary  action  of  the 
people  had  nobly  sustained  it.  A  body  of  470  ministers  had 
been  increased  720.  The  community  upon  whom  they  had 
thrown  themselves,  though  far  from  the  wealthiest,  had  erected 
churches  for  all  its  congregations,  at  a  cost  of  more  than 
£450,000,  "  and  in  addition  to  this,  had  subscribed  £100,000 
to  build  manses  for  all  its  ministers.  It  had  instituted  a  College 
with  nine  Professorships,  to  each  of  which  a  salary  of  from 
£300  to  £400  per  annum  was  attached.  It  had  340  students 
under  education  for  the  holy  office,  among  whom  bursaries  and 
scholarships  to  the  amount  of  £700  had  been  distributed  in  a 
single  year.  By  a  single  effort  it  had  raised  £50,000  for  the 
building  of  500  school-houses,  and  it  had  already  connected 
with  it  about  600  schools,  in  which  nearly  as  many  children 
were  instructed  in  the  ordinary  branches  of  education  as  were 
in  attendance  at  all  the  endowed  parochial  schools  of  Scotland. 
For  the  teaching  and  training  of  schoolmasters  it  had  two 
extensive  normal  establishments  in  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh. 
At  home  110  licentiates  and  116  catechists  were  engaged  in 
the  spiritual  instruction  of  the  people,  while  abroad  it  ha^ 
gents  laboring  in  every  quarter  of  the  habitable  globe.  At 
^-*esth,  at  Jassy,  at  Berlin,  at  Constantinople,  seventeen  mis- 
sionaries and  assistants  were  endeavoring  to  promote  the  con- 
version of  the  Jews.  At  Calcutta,  Madras,  Bombay,  Puna, 
and  Nagpur,  it  supported  fifteen  European  clergymen  ordained 
as  missionaries,  nine  converted  natives  engaged  in  the  work  of 
the  Christian  ministry,  and  a  large  band  of  teachers  and 
assistants,  both  native  and  European,  from  whom  4000  Indian 
children  were  receiving  a  complete  Christian  education.  In 
Nova  Scotia,  the  Canadas,  the  West  Indies,  the  Cape,  Austra- 
lia, Madeira,  Malta,  Leghorn,  and  Gibraltar,  there  were  minis- 
ters supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  bounty  of  the  Free 
Church,  while  £1000  per  annum  had  been  intrusted  to  the 
Evangelical  Societies  of  France  and  of  Geneva,  to  aid  in  circu- 
lating the  Gospel  over  the  continent  of  Europe.  In  1847,  the 
Free  Church  raised  for  educational  and  missionary  objects 
three  times  as  much  as  the  united  Church  of  Scotland  did  in 


MT.    67.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  427 

1843.  It  had  continued  for  four  years  to  yield  the  princely 
revenue  of  £300,000,  and  in  that  short  period  had  contributed 
about  a  million  and  a  half  to  the  Christian  cause."  Yet  Dr. 
Chalmers  still  expressed  himself  unsatisfied  as  to  the  final  suc- 
cess of  the  voluntary  system,  and  considered  it  of  great  im- 
portance that  the  Free  Church  should  never  fall  away  from  her 
testimony  for  the  principle  of  a  national  establishment,  when 
that  could  be  obtained  without  a  compromise  of  her  spiritual 
independence. 

On  the  subject  of  national  education  he  entertained  similar 
views.  Conceiving  that  the  Free  Church,  by  its  voluntary  ef- 
forts, was  as  unable  to  supply  the  educational  as  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  country,  he  thought  it  necessary  for  the  government 
to  undertake  that  work,  though  what  method  to  pursue  was  a 
question  of  some  difficulty.  During  the  last  few  months  of  his 
life  it  occupied  much  of  his  attention.  His  final  opinions  were 
stated  by  him  in  conversation  to  Mr.  Fox  Maule  and  other 
members  of  the  government,  whom  he  met  in  London,  in  May, 
1847,  and  afterward,  at  Mr.  Maule's  request  embodied  in  a 
paper,  written  during  a  visit  to  his  sister,  Mrs.  Morton,  the 
purport  of  which  is,  that  the  State  should  furnish  means  L 
erecting  schools  throughout  the  country,  including  religion^ 
instruction  ;  but  leaving  the  introduction  of  the  particular  reli- 
gious element  to  the  parties  who  had  to  do  with  the  erection 
and  management  of  the  respective  schools. 

On  the  occasion  of  that  same  visit  to  London,  which,  indeed, 
was  undertaken  for  that  express  purpose,  he  gave  before  a 
parliamentary  committee,  his  last  testimony  in  relation  to  the 
Free  Church.  "  At  the  Disruption  a  large  body  of  the  landed 
aristocracy  of  Scotland  had  refused  upon  any  terms  to  grant 
sites  on  which  churches  or  uanses  might  be  built.  Such  stable 
fabrics  would  give  permanence  to  a  movement  which  they 
intensely  disliked,  and  might  prevent  that  re-union  with  the 
Establishment  which,  when  the  flush  of  the  first  excitement 
was  over,  they  hoped  to  sec  accomplished.  When  these  anti- 
cipations were  falsified,  and  it  became  evident  that  the  Free 
Church  was  to  rank  among  the  permanent  institutions  of  the 


428  LIFE    OF   DR.    CHALMP:RS.  1847. 

country,  many  of  these  hostile  proprietors  gave  way,  but  a 
goodly  number  still  stood  out.  Having  waited  patiently,  but 
in  vain,  for  two  years,  in  the  hope  that  this  spirit  of  intolerance 
would  spontaneously  subside,  and  having  exhausted  all  means 
of  private  influence  and  remonstrance,  the  General  Assembly 
of  1845  petitioned  Parhament  and  the  Legislature,  stating  the 
grievance,  and  praying  for  legislative  redress.  The  Govern- 
ment having  shown  no  disposition  to  move  in  the  matter,  Mr. 
Maule,  in  June,  1846,  introduced  a  bill  into  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, the  object  of  which  was  to  oblige  the  proprietors  to 
concede.  The  leading  members  of  the  House  concurred  in 
condemning  the  conduct  complained  of,  but  as  its  conclusion 
was  thought  to  be  too  stringent,  and  the  hope  was  cherished 
that  their  own  good  sense  and  good  feeling  would  induce  the 
proprietors  to  yield  without  the  necessity  of  legislative  inter- 
ference, the  Bill  was  thrown  out.  No  symptoms  of  concession 
appearing,  Mr.  Bouverie,  in  March,  1847,  moved  and  carried 
the  appointment  of  a  Committee  of  the  House  '  to  inquire 
whether,  and  in  what  parts  of  Scotland,  and  under  what  cir- 
cumstances, large  numbers  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  have  been 
deprived  of  the  means  of  religious  worship  by  the  refusal  of 
certain  proprietors  to  grant  them  sites  for  the  erection  of 
churches.'  It  soon  became  evident  that  the  examination  of 
witnesses  before  the  committee  w^as  to  take  a  wide  and  import- 
ant range,  and  that  an  attempt  was  to  be  made  by  representing 
the  grounds  of  the  Disruption  as  so  untenable,  and  the  oppo- 
sition offered  to  the  Establishment  so  violent,  as  to  palliate  if 
not  excuse  even  the  wrong  step  of  refusing  sites  for  churches. 
In  these  circumstances,  it  was  deemed  desirable  that  Dr. 
Chalmers  should  appear  as  a  witness  before  the  committee." 

While  in  the  metropolis,  and  enjoying  the  society  of  many 
old  friends,  he  formed  some  new  acquaintances  whom  he  valued 
highly,  among  whom  were  Lord  Morpeth  and  Mr.  Morell.  The 
following  entry  in  his  journal  makes  mention  of  several  of 
them,  as  well  as  his  last  interview  with  Mr.  Carlyle. 

"Friday,  I4th. — A  most  splendid  party  breakfast   in    our 
lodgings  —  Isaac   Taylor,  Mr.  Morell,  Rev.  James    Hamilton, 


^T.  67.  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  429 

Mr.  Baptist  Noel,  his  son  AVriothesly  Noel,  now  a  grown-up 
lad,  and  George  Weakner.  A  deal  of  talk :  the  main  subject 
was  Mr.  Irving.  Mr.  Taylor,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  ten  years, 
looks  a  great  deal  more  than  ten  years  older.  The  most  interest- 
ing appearance  and  manner  of  a  man  were  those  of  Mr.  Morell — 
modest  and  quiet,  and  very  intelligent ;  but  Taylor  the  person  of 
the  greatest  vigor.  Mr.  Hamilton's  recent  tracts  are  truly  beau- 
tiful, particularly  the  'Vine,'  from  John  xv.  They  left  after 
ten,  Taylor  and  Morell  going  off  together.  *  *  *  We  took 
a  cab  to  Carlyle's  at  Chelsea.  Nothing  could  be  warmer  than 
Mrs.  Carlyle's  reception  of  me  (formerly  Miss  Welsh,  who 
visited  us  at  Ardincaple  Inn).  She  is  remarkably  juvenile- 
looking  still.  He  came  to  us  in  a  minute  or  two.  I  had  lost 
all  recollection  of  him,  though  he  told  me  of  three  inter- 
views, and  having  breakfasted  with  me  at  Glasgow.  A  strong- 
featured  man,  and  of  strong  sense.  We  were  most  cordial  and 
coalescing,  and  he  very  complimentary  and  pleasant ;  but  his 
talk  was  not  at  all  Carlylish,  much  rather  the  plain  and  manly 
conversation  of  good  ordinary  common  sense,  with  a  deal  of 
hearty  laughing  on  both  sides.  The  points  on  which  I  was 
most  interested  were  his  approval  of  my  territorial  system,  and 
his  eulogy  on  direct  thinking,  to  the  utter  disparagement  of 
those  subjective  philosophers  who  are  constantly  thinking  upon 
thinking.  We  stopped  more  than  an  hour  with  him.  *  *  * 
Mr.  Carlyle  professed  his  willingness  to  write  for  the  '  North 
British,'  I  think  Morell  would  do  the  same." 

Visiting  his  sister,  Mrs.  Morton,  at  her  residence  in  Glou- 
cestershire, "  Dr.  Chalmers  preached  his  last  sermon  in  the 
Independent  chapel  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dove — his  text  being- 
Isaiah  xxvii,  4,  5."  This  occurred  on  Sabbath  the  16th  of 
May.  After  spending  a  few  days  in  quiet  domestic  intercourse 
with  Mrs.  Morton  and  her  family,  he  returned  to  Edinburgh 
on  the  night  of  Friday  the  28th,  "  bearing  no  peculiar  marks 
of  fatigue  or  exhaustion.  At  breakfast  the  next  morning  his 
conversation  was  as  lively  and  vigorous  as  ever.  He  inquired 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gemmel  of  Fairlie,  who  was  staying  in  his 
house,  what  business  had  been  before  the  General  Assembly 


4:30  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1847. 

on  the  preceding  evening.  When  told  that  it  was  an  overture 
relative  to  the  renewal  of  an  old  testimony  by  the  church,  he 
was  not  satisfied  as  to  the  testimony  required  to  be  given — he 
hoped  that  they  would  let  the  matter  alone — he  expressed 
himself  unfavorable  to  anything  like  a  renewal  of  the 
National  Covenants,  and  that  he  preferred  the  making  the 
church's  testimony  known  rather  by  what  it  did  than  what  it 
declared.  The  forenoon  of  Saturday  was  occupied  in  prepar- 
ing a  report  which  he  was  to  read  before  the  General  Assembly 
on  the  following  Monday,  part  of  which  he  now  completed, 
leaving  the  remainder  to  be  executed  on  Monday  morning  be- 
fore he  rose.  On  Sabbath  morning  he  did  not  rise  to  breakfast. 
'He  sent  a  message  to  me,'  says  Mr.  Gemmel,  '  after  breakfast, 
to  go  and  see  him  in  his  bedroom.  On  entering  the  room,  I 
found  him  in  bed,  reclining  on  his  back,  propped  up  with  pil- 
lows, his  head  being  very  considerably  elevated,  which  I 
believe  was  his  usual  way  of  resting  in  bed.  His  bland  and 
benevolent  countenance  beamed  upon  me  as  I  came  up  to  his 
side,  and  he  grasped  me  warmly  by  the  hand.  '  I  am  sorry 
that  you  are  unwell,  to-day.  Doctor.' — '  I  do  not  by  any  means 
feel  unwell ;  I  only  require  a  little  rest.'  He  spoke  with  the 
greatest  clearness  and  vigor  ;  and  I  could  not  think  that  any- 
thing was  wrong,  but  what  might  arise  from  the  lassitude  pro- 
duced by  his  late  journey  and  exertions  in  the  South.  '  I  am 
rejoiced,*  said  he,  '  that  the  Assembly  have  agreed  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  grant  for  national  education  ;  and  I  trust 
that  a  sound  Scriptural  education  will  pervade  the  whole 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Your  resolutions  are,  I  think, 
to  that  eflfect  ?  '  I  replied,  *  Yes  ;  but  one  of  our  resolutions 
characterizes  the  national  scheme  as  unsound  and  latitudinarian. 
I  fear  that  the  scheme  is  latitudinarian  ;  but  I  am  not  quite  so 
clear  as  to  the  use  of  the  word  unsound.  Doddridge,  for  example, 
is  latitudinarian  ;  but  I  should  be  very  unwilling  to  call  him 
unsound.  And  Baxter  is  still  more  latitudinarian  ;  but  I 
should  be  very  unwilling,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  to  call 
him  unsound.  There  are  what  are  called  Baxterian  errors,  I 
am  aware,  and  one  of  these  is  in  relation  to  the  extent  of  the 


iET.   67.  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  431 

sacrifice  of  Christ ;  Baxter,  I  think,  holding  that  Christ  died 
for  all  men.'  Dr.  Chalmers  answered,  '  Yes  :  Baxter  holds 
that  Christ  died  for  all  men  ;  but  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  quite 
at  one  with  what  some  of  our  friends  have  written  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  atonement.  I  do  not,  for  example,  entirely  agree 
with  what  Mr.  Haldane  says  on  that  subject.  I  think  that  the 
word  world  as  applied  in  Scripture  to  the  sacrifice  of  Christ, 
has  been  unnecessarily  restricted  ;  the  common  way  of  explain- 
ing it  is,  that  it  simply  includes  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews.  I 
do  not  like  that  explanation ;  and  I  think  that  there  is  one  text 
that  puts  that  interpretation  entirely  aside.  The  text  to  which 
I  allude  is,  that  '  God  commandeth  all  men,  everywhere  to 
repent.'  Here  the  Doctor  spoke  of  the  connection  between 
the  election  of  God,  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  the  freeness 
of  the  offer  of  the  Gospel.  He  spoke  with  great  eloquence, 
and  I  felt  as  if  he  were  in  the  pulpit,  as  some  of  his  finest 
bursts  rolled  from  his  lips.  '  In  the  offer  of  the  gospel,'  said 
he,  '  we  must  make  no  limitation  whatever.  I  compare  the 
world  to  a  multitude  of  iron  filings  in  a  vessel,  and  the  gospel 
to  a  magnet.  The  minister  of  the  gospel  must  bring  the  mag- 
net into  contact  with  them  all  :  the  secret  agency  of  God  is  to 
produce  the  attraction.' — '  But,'  said  I,  '  a  common  objection 
of  the  sinner,  when  awakened  to  a  sense  of  his  state,  is,  '  Per- 
haps I  am  not  elected  ;  and,  therefore,  I  need  not  try.'  *  That,'  •■ 
said  he,  *  is  cutting  before  the  point.  I  am  a  predestinarian  : 
my  theology  is  that  of  Jonathan  Edwards.'  '  You  are  a  ISTeces- 
sitarian/'  said  I.  '  Yes,'  was  the  reply,  '  a  ISTecessitarian  ;  but  I 
would  always  wish  to  be  borne  in  mind  a  sayingof  Bisliop  But- 
ler— viz.,  '  That  we  have  not  so  much  to  inquire  what  God  does, 
or  should  do  to  us,  as  what  are  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  Him.* 
"■  '  Human  beings,'  continued  Dr.  Chalmers,  'have  theifiost 
strange  way  of  keeping  their  accounts  :  they  have  one  way  of 
keeping  their  accounts  with  the  world,  and  another  way  of  keep- 
ing their  accounts  with  Heaven.  In  relation  to  the  world,  you 
will  find  men  often  open,  and  generous,  and  unsuspicious  ;  but 
then  they  keep  their  accounts  with  Heaven  in  the  most  suspi- 
cious and  niggardly  manner — in  a  manner  with  which  I  can 


4:32  LIFE    OF    DK.    CHALMERS.  1847. 

have  no  sympathy — continually  striving  against,  and  fighting 
with  the  goodness  and  sincerity  of  God,  and  will  not  take  God 
at  his  word.' 

"  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cunningham 
called,  and  went  with  Dr.  Chalmers  to  the  afternoon  service  in 
his  usual  place  of  worship — the  Free  Church  at  Morningside. 
In  accompanying  Dr.  Cunningham  a  short  distance  on  his  way 
back  to  Newington,  Dr.  Chalmers  expressed  his  great  satisfac- 
tion at  the  opportunity  he  had  in  London  of  giving  his  evidence 
before  the  Sites  Committee,  dwelling  with  particular  compla- 
cency on  the  representation  he  had  given  of  the  position  in 
which  the  Free  Church  stood  toward  the  Establishment.  Re- 
turning by  Bruntsfield  Links,  he  made  his  last  call  on  Mrs. 
Coutts,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  beloved  of  his  Fifeshire 
friends.  After  tea  he  retired  to  his  siesta,  wrote  a  note  to  Mrs. 
Morton,  and  afterward  went  into  the  garden  behind  his  house  ; 
sauntering  round  which  he  was  overheard  by  one  of  his  family, 
in  low  but  very  earnest  tones,  saying,  '  O  Father,  my  Heavenly 
Father  ! '  On  returning  to  the  drawing-room,  he  threw  him- 
self into  his  usual  reclining  posture.  His  conversation  at  first 
w^as  joyous  and  playful ;  a  shadow  passed  over  him  as  some 
disquieting  thought  arose — but  a  light  spread  over  his  face  as 
he  said,  that  disquietudes  lay  light  upon  a  man  who  could  fix 
his  heart  upon  heaven.  '  I'm  fond,'  he  said,  *  of  the  Sabbath. 
Hail  sacred  Sabbath  morn  !  Do  you  like  Grahame's  Sabbath, 
Mr.  Gemmel  ?  Dr.  Johnson  was  very  wrong  in  saying  that  there 
can  be  no  true  poetry  that  is  religious.'  '  At  supper,'  says  Mr. 
Gemmel,  '  I  sat  near  him,  at  his  right  hand.  '  Are  you  much 
acquainted  with  the  Puritan  Divines,  Mr.  Gemmel  ?  '  said  he. 
I  answered  that  I  was,  in  some  measure.  *  Which  do  you 
chiefly  admire  ? '  *  I  think  very  much  of  Howe,'  was  my 
reply.  'And  so  do  I,'  said  he  ;  *  he  is  my  favorite  author.  I 
think  that  he  is  the  first  of  the  Puritan  divines.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  take  much  to  his  image  of  a  living  temple  ;  but  I  have 
been  lately  reading  his  *  Dehghting  in  God,'  and  I  admire  it 
much.' 

**  After  supper,  addressing  me,  '  You  gave  us  worship,'  said 


^T   67.  LIFE   OF   D14.    CHALMEKS.  433 

he,  *  in  the  morning  ;  I  am  sorry  to  ask  you  again  to  give  wor- 
ship in  the  evening.'  '  J^ot  at  all,'  said  I,  'I  will  be  happy  to 
do  so.'  *  Well,'  said  he,  *  you  will  give  worship  to-night ;  and 
1  expect  to  give  worship  to-morrow  morning.^  Before  worship 
commenced,  and  just  as  the  servants  were  preparing  to  come 
up-stairs,  he  asked  me  whether  I  had  read  the  sermons  of  Mr. 
Purves  of  Jedburgh.  I  answered  that  I  had  not.  *  They  are 
very  excellent  sermons,'  said  he  ;  '  and  there  is  one,  in  which 
he  rids  the  marches  between  the  election  of  God  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  freeness  of  the  Gospel  on  the  other,  which  is 
admirable.' 

"  During  the  whole  of  the  evening,  as  if  he  had  kept  his 
brightest  smiles  and  fondest  utterances  to  the  last,  and  for  his 
own,  he  was  peculiarly  bland  and  benignant.  *  I  had  seen  him 
frequently,'  says  Mr.  Gemmel,  '  at  Fairlie,  and  in  his  most 
happy  moods,  but  I  never  saw  him  happier.  Christian  bene- 
volence beamed  from  his  countenance,  sparkled  in  his  eye,  and 
played  upon  his  lips.'  Immediately  after  prayers  he  withdrew, 
and  bidding  his  family  remember  that  they  must  be  early 
to-morrow,  he  waved  his  hand,  saying,  *A  general  good-night.* 

"  Next  morning  before  eight  o'clock.  Professor  MacDougall, 
who  lived  in  the  house  adjoining,  sent  to  inquire  about  a 
packet  of  papers  which  he  had  expected  to  receive  at  an  earlier 
hour.  The  housekeeper  who  had  been  long  in  the  family, 
knocked  at  the  door  of  Dr.  Chalmers's  room,  but  received  no 
answer.  Concluding  that  he  was  asleep,  and  unwilling  to 
disturb  him,  she  waited  till  another  party  called  with  a  second 
message  ;  she  then  entered  the  room — it  was  in  darkness  ;  she 
spoke,  but  there  was  no  response.  At  last  she  threw  open  the 
window-shutters,  and  drew  aside  the  curtains  of  the  bed.  He 
sat  there,  half  erect,  his  head  reclining  gently  on  the  pillow ; 
the  expression  of  his  countenance  that  of  fixed  and  majestic 
repose.  She  took  his  hand — she  touched  his  brow ;  he  had 
been  dead  for  hours  :  very  shortly  after  that  parting  salute  to 
his  family  he  had  entered  the  eternal  world.  It  must  have 
been  wholly  without  pain  or  conflict.  The  expression  of  the 
face  undisturbed  by  a  single  trace  of  suffering,  the  position  of 
37 


434  LIFE   OF   DK.    CHALMERS.  1S47 

the  body  so  easy  that  the  least  struggle  would  have  disturbed 
it,  the  very  posture  of  arms  and  hands  and  fingers,  known  to 
his  family  as  that  into  which  they  fell  naturally  in  the  moments 
of  entire  repose — conspired  to  show,  that,  saved  all  strife  with 
the  last  enemy,  his  spirit  had  passed  to  its  place  of  blessed- 
ness and  glory  in  the  heavens." 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  then  in  session, 
upon  learning  the  mournful  event,  immediately  suspended  all 
business,  and  remained  convened  only,  to  render  the  last  offices 
to  the  illustrious  departed. 

The  body  of  Thomas  Chalmers  was  committed  to  the  tomb 
on  the  4th  of  June,  with  every  mark  of  honor  which  his  coun- 
trymen could  bestow. 

It  was  thus  that  a  writer  in  the  '  Witness  '  described  the 
solemn  procession  which  represented  a  nation  mourning  over 
her  greatest  fallen. 

''  The  day  was  one  of  those  gloomy  days,  not  unfrequent 
m  early  summer,  which  steeps  the  landscape  in  a  sombre 
neutral  tint  of  gray — a  sort  of  diluted  gloom — and  volumes 
of  mist,  unvariegated,  blank,  and  dififuse  of  outline,  flew  low 
athwart  the  hills  or  lay  folded  on  the  distant  horizon.  A  chill 
breeze  from  the  east  murmured  drearily  through  the  trees  that 
line  the  cemetery  on  the  south  and  west,  and  rustled  amid  the  low 
ornamental  shrubs  that  vary  and  adorn  its  surface.  We  felt  as  if 
the  o-arish  sunshine  would  have  associated  ill  with  the  occasion. 
As  the  procession  approached,  the  shops  on  both  sides,  with 
scarce  any  exceptions,  were  shut  up,  and  business  suspended. 
There  was  no  part  of  the  street  or  road  through  which  it  passed 
sufficiently  open,  or  nearly  so,  to  give  a  view  of  the  whole. 
The  spectator  merely  saw  file  after  file  pass  by  in  what  seemed 
endless  succession.  In  the  cemetery,  which  is  of  great  extent, 
the  whole  was  at  once  seen  for  the  first  time,  and  the  appear- 
ance was  that  of  an  army.  The  figures  dwindled  in  the 
distance,  in  receding  toward  the  open  grave  along  the  long 
winding  walk,  as  in  those  magnificent  pictures  of  Martin,  in 
which  even  the  littleness  of  man  is  made  to  enhance  the  great- 
ness of  their  works  and  the  array  of  their  aggregated  numbers. 


^T.  67,  LIFE    OF    DR.    CHALMERS.  436 

And  still  the  open  gateway  continued  to  give  ingress  to  the 
dingy,  living  tide,  that  seemed  to  flow  unceasingly  inward, 
like  some  perennial  stream  that  disembogues  its  waters  into  a 
lake.  The  party-colored  thousands  on  the  eminence  above,  all 
in  silence,  and  many  of  them  in  tears — the  far-stretching  lines 
of  the  mourners  below — the  effect,  amid  the  general  black, 
of  the  scarlet  cloaks  of  the  magistracy — for  the  Magistrates 
of  Edinburgh,  with  much  good  taste  and  feeling,  had  come  in 
their  robes  of  office,  and  attended  by  its  officials  and  insignia, 
to  manifest  their  spontaneous  respect  for  the  memory  of  the 
greatest  of  their  countrymen — the  slow,  measured  tramp,  that, 
with  the  rustle  of  the  breeze,  formed  the  only  sounds  audible  in 
so  vast  an  assemblage — all  conspired  to  compose  a  scene  solemn 
and  impressive  in  the  highest  degree,  and  of  which  the  recol- 
lection will  long  survive  in  the  memory  of  the  spectators.  There 
was  a  moral  sublimity  in  the  spectacle.  It  spoke  more  emphati- 
cally than  by  words,  of  the  dignity  of  intrinsic  excellence,  and  of 
the  height  to  which  a  true  man  may  attain.  It  was  the  dust 
of  a  Presbyterian  minister  which  the  coffin  contained  ;  and  yet 
they  were  burying  him  amid  the  tears  of  a  nation,  and  with 
more  than  kingly  honors." 


THE     END 


Date  Due 


A  ^■^Lft  li  '/^^^'^^^"^"^^ 


?^%a4^ 


«©+»*»? 


.4lff#ypt 


*«»«*i^*fi«ir' 


